NEW DELHI : The Union minister of Health and family welfare Harsh Vardhan will meet senior officials of the Delhi government on Wednesday to take stock of the situation after new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases were reported in the national capital region.
Urging the citizens to follow simple precautions to prevent COVID-19 infection, Vardhan said hygiene measures such as washing hands, maintaining etiquettes while coughing, sneezing, and reporting to the concerned authorities if anyone has fever or sour throat, will keep everyone safe.
Over 10 lakh people have been screened in the villages of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim bordering Nepal that has also reported COVID-19 cases to keep a check on the deadly virus from spreading further, health minister said Tuesday.
Nearly 26,000 people are under community surveillance across India, and 37 people with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 are hospitalised with their samples sent for testing to national institute of biology in Pune.
“So far 3,245 samples have been tested out of which six have tested positive for COVID-19 while reports of 23 are awaited, Vardhan said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in a meeting with PM Narendra Modi said that the state government will work in tandem with the centre to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in the national capital.
PM Modi on Tuesday tweeted that he has reviewed the situation of coronavirus and India's preparedness to deal with the global pandemic, assuring citizens that there was no reason to panic.
The Cabinet Secretary also held a review meeting through video conference with the secretaries of concerned ministries, chief secretaries and health secretaries of the States to review and assess action taken for containment of COVID-19.
"Isolation facility has been provided in these hospitals and 230 beds have also been made available. Beds will also be made available to doctors and other staff treating the cases in the hospital. The Delhi government has also arranged for the distribution of more than 3.50 lakh N95 masks. Around 8000 separation kits have also been arranged," Kejriwal said.
