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Amid scare posed by the COVID-19 after 25 new cases surfaced over the past two days in the country, the Indian government has sprung into action even as the situation is being directly supervised by the Prime Minister's Office.
So far a total of 28 COVID-19 infection cases have been found in India. The first three cases found in southern state of Kerala had been successfully cured last month.
Among the 25 new cases, 17 are Italian nationals who came to India as tourists and now kept in an isolation ward in Delhi. The rest eight are Indians.
P.K. Mishra, the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday chaired an inter-ministerial meeting to review preparedness for and response to the COVID-19 issue.
Key decisions taken at the meeting included expansion of testing facilities and developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) data-base for mapping disease hot-spots and available medical facilities.
Two important changes were brought in since Tuesday, which included further enhancing the country's level of preparedness by introducing universal screening at all international airports and sea-ports through use of thermal imagery equipment, and mandatory filling of declaration forms of places visited by tourists and travelers returning from abroad.
The Ministry of Home Affairs was tasked to work closely with state governments to ensure compliance with screening protocols at Integrated Check Posts on the international borders. The National Informatics Centre would provide the requisite support to the Bureau of Immigration and the Ministry of Home Affairs in this regard.
Wednesday's meeting was the latest in a series of stock-taking meetings at the Prime Minister Office, with the first one held on Jan. 25.
According to an official statement, those present at the meeting highlighted that participation of the communities and local bodies was essential to combat the public health challenge posed by the virus. It was decided to explore the greater involvement of the private sector.
Considering the public health experts' recommendation to avoid big public gatherings, it was decided that all government departments and ministries shall consult the Ministry of Health before organising any conferences and international meetings or seminars.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi had appealed to the countrymen to reduce mass gatherings in a bid to avoid catching the COVID-19, and also announced not to celebrate the festival of colours "Holi", which falls on March 10 this year.
He tweeted "Experts across the world have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the spread of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. Hence, this year I have decided not to participate in any Holi program."
President of India Ram Nath Kovind also cancelled "Holi" festival celebrations in the wake of the COVID-19 scare. "With alertness and safeguards, we all can help contain the outbreak of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. In a precautionary measure, the President House will not hold the traditional Holi gatherings," he said in a tweet on Wednesday.
(by Xinhua Writer Pankaj Yadav)
