India making efforts to stave off coronavirus

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

Government officials in India shared the efforts being made to contain the spread of Coronavirus.

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi himself is leading the efforts from the front and monitoring the situation daily. Principal Secretary to Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary are holding meetings with the Chief Secretaries and other concerned officials of all the State and UTs through video conferencing on day to day basis.

Health Ministry, under the leadership of Dr. Harsh Vardhan is also maintaining a close watch on the situation, especially in setting up of Isolation Wards across the country and screening of the people coming to India from abroad. An Isolation Camp has already been set up in the ITBP Campus at Manesar which is functioning 24/7.

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The Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Information & Broadcasting and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise, Shri Prakash Javadekar said 124 Indians and 5 foreigners who were stuck in the Japanese Ship, and some of whom were suspected to be having Coronavirus infection were rescued, tested and they were found to be negative. Passengers are being screened 24×7 at all the 21 international airports. Six lakh visitors have been screened so far. About one million people have been screened in the border areas adjoining Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. Villages in border areas adjoining neighboring countries are also being taken care of.

Shri Javadekar said while there was only 01 Virology Lab in the country in Pune, the Government has set up 15 new Virology Labs and 19 more will be set up within one week across the country. Travel advisories have also been issued. A big awareness campaign has been launched across the country especially in schools, colleges and elsewhere and people are being made aware about the “Do’s and Don’ts” to prevent possible infection.

As of Mar. 4, India has reported 28 confirmed COVID-19 cases.