As new coronavirus spreads, India steps up surveillance
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 21
As the novel coronavirus spreads across China with cases being reported even from neighbouring countries today, India intensified surveillance expanding thermal screening of passengers arriving from China and Hong Kong to seven airports.
The virus
A family of viruses which range from common cold to MERS (middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)
The thermal scanning will now be done at international airports of Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin along with Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, which were identified earlier. The Ministry of Civil Aviation today directed logistics support and arrangements to be made at all above airports to enhance surveillance.
The move comes on a day when China reported six deaths from the virus and 295 cases as the disease spread from Wuhan City to Beijing, Shanghai and southern Guondong province.
Where does it come from
It circulates between animals and some of these viruses have the capability to transmit between animals and humans
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for the organisation’s emergency committee meeting tomorrow to review whether the current outbreak in China needed to be designated as the public health emergency of international concern.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry today confirmed the presence of its officials there to deal with the fatal epidemic.
How to protect against infection
The coronavirus typically causes respiratory symptoms. WHO recommends basic hand hygiene such as washing hands with soap and water and respiratory hygiene such sneezing into one’s elbow. Ways to protect oneself against a potential animal source would be to avoid unnecessary unprotected contact with live animals and to make sure one washes hands thoroughly after contact with an animal and also ensures meat is cooked thoroughly before consuming.
India meanwhile remained on alert with the Ministry of Health and National Centre for Disease Control issuing advisories to states to step up disease control and surveillance efforts.
The Civil Aviation Ministry here has called for immediate implementation of the action plan and strict adherence by identified airports and all airlines concerned to surveillance protocols.
To facilitate early isolation, airlines directly coming from any airport in China and Hong Kong have been instructed to make in-flight announcements asking passengers with history of fever and cough and history of travel to Wuhan City in the past 14 days to self-declare the condition at the port of arrival or to state health authorities.
There’s no specific treatment for the coronavirus, but symptoms can be treated
No of deaths 6
No of cases 295
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