New Delhi: Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said central teams have been sent to conduct thermal screening of Novel Coronavirus at seven designated airports — New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.
Although, no coronavirus cases have been detected in the country so far, government is reviewing and monitoring the preparedness on a daily basis.
According to the Health Ministry, these teams will consist of a public health expert, a clinician and a microbiologist. They are scheduled to reach their respective destination on Sunday.
“They (teams) shall review the end-to-end preparedness for management and control of coronavirus in the states, including that at the airports, for thermal screening and transferring of patients to hospitals for isolation, and shall also visit the tertiary hospitals attached to the airports for reviewing the isolation wards and availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and masks, etc.,” said the Health Ministry in a statement.
The teams will coordinate with the state health secretaries to explore all avenues to strengthen states’ preparedness, and also review the adherence to mandatory guidelines connected with infection control and surveillance.
A 24×7 Call Centre (+91-11-23978046) has been setup to address public queries.
“The call centre will also monitor the list of contacts furnished by Ministry of External Affairs, provide details of district and state surveillance officers to those who seek them, and in case of any clinical query, direct the concerned to the relevant Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) officer,” said the Health Ministry.
According to the Union Minister, out of eleven persons under observation, four passengers have been confirmed to be negative for coronavirus by the ICMR-NIV Pune lab.
He has sought personal intervention from various chief ministers to review their respective state preparedness for control and management of coronavirus. (IANS)
