A thermal screeening device checks passengers arriving in India from China and Hong Kong in view of outbreak o... Read More

NEW DELHI: Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday that PM Narendra Modi is "personally monitoring" the situation arising out of the coronavirus scare.

"Every effort is being made to ensure that the virus does not make inroads into India. People coming in from six countries - China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea - are being screened at as many as 21 airports across the country," the minister told reporters.

After a meeting of high-level group of ministers to review the situation, Union minister Mansukh L Mandaviya told TOI, "There is no risk of getting required API (raw material for making medicines). We have several MNCs here, which are producing the APIs. There is enough availability for the next two months. The present manufacturers will obviously ramp up their production. "

He added that while India imports API worth Rs 26,000 crore annually, it also exports API valued at around Rs 16,000 crore .

The government has set up the high-level committee to prevent the rise in the price of medicines and how to deal with the situation. Till now nearly 80% of API was coming from China.

Till Thursday, 1,310 had died of coronavirus in China. Three cases have been reported from Kerala. Talking about the condition of 160 Indian crew members aboard a British cruise ship, Vardhan said, "The Japanese government is dealing with them as per protocols ."

Meanwhile, PM Modi has appreciated Air India and health ministry officials, who helped stranded Indians in Wuhan evacuate, for their "high level commitment to duty". He has issued a letter of appreciation to the team members, said a government statement, adding that this letter would be handed over to the crew by the aviation minister.

