Kamal Haasan urges TN govt to take anti-Coronavirus steps; points at 4-5th week importance

President of Makkal Needhi Maiam Kamal Haasan on Monday urged the Tamil Nadu government to take stringent precautionary measures against the rising novel Coronavirus cases. Haasan stated that the pattern from other countries has shown that 4th and 5th weeks are very critical in the rapid spread and utmost caution is required to break this pattern in India. So far only a single positive case of Coronavirus has been reported in Tamil Nadu while a total of 119 cases have been reported in the country. 

The press release by Haasan dated March 16 also advised everyone with a travel history and symptoms of infection to go to government hospitals and seek speedy detection. The party chief urged the state government to have an emergency meeting with private sector medical personnel and authorize them to call the labs with testing facilities to take samples for testing. "A fast screening process can help identify potential cases and curtail community spread," the press release read. 

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Furthermore, the Makkal Needhi Maiam party chief has also suggested to people to maintain social distancing in addition to the virus-detection tests as a precautionary measure to contain the virus spread. 

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Coronavirus crisis in India

As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has risen up to 119, with two deaths in the country. India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15. India has also closed the India-Pakistan border and restricted passenger movement at the border with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar.

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Moreover, the Centre has “strongly advised” Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad. The government is also monitoring all suspected cases and issued preventive advisories. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also declared the novel Coronavirus spread as a 'notified disaster' to provide assistance under the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF). 

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