Centre reviews preparedness to tackle the Novel Coronavirus

Cabinet Secretary held a high level review meeting on the preparedness for Novel Coronavirus in New Delhi yesterday.

Secretaries of Health and Family Welfare, External Affairs, Home Affairs, Civil Aviation, Department of Health Research, and representatives from ITBP, AFMS and NDMA were present in the meeting. The Cabinet Secretary has held six review meetings so far.

A new travel advisory has been issued urging everyone to refrain from travel to China. In case of travel, people could be quarantined on return from China. Anyone with travel history in China since 15th January and from now on could be quarantined.

58,658 passengers from 445 flights have been screened so far. A total of 142 symptomatic travellers picked up by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) have been referred to the isolation facilities. 130 samples have been tested of which 128 have been found to be negative.

The two positive cases found in Kerala are being monitored and are clinically stable. The second batch of 330 passengers, including 7 Maldivan citizens, from Wuhan arrived in India yesterday. Of these, 300 people are housed at ITBP Chawla Camp and 30 are in Manesar. They are being effectively monitored.