Health Minister Harsh Vardhan visits IGI airport to take stock of Coronavirus preparedness

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on March 6 visited the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi to inspect the preparedness to tackle coronavirus outbreak. Harsh Vardhan visited Terminal-3 of the international airport to take stock of the arrangements made for the screening of passengers coming from the 78 countries that have reported active coronavirus cases. 

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Dr Harsh Vardhan taking to Twitter stated that during his visit to the IGI airport, he discussed and shared guidelines with the doctors and other staff members engaged in the screening of passengers. The Health minister also expressed his gratitude to the doctors and other members involved in the screening at the airport. Harsh Vardhan will reportedly visit the Chennai airport in a day or two for further inspection. 

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According to reports, currently, there are 21 international airports in India where passengers are being screened after landing. Media reports suggested that over 6 lakh passengers have been screened at various airports in India since January 17.  As per reports, the total number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 30, out of which 2 are under critical condition and five have been recovered fully. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The new coronavirus also known as COVID-19 has claimed more than 3,300 lives across the globe and has infected over 97,000 people around the world since it first broke out in December 2019. According to reports, at least 280 people have died outside mainland China, which makes it the worst disease outbreak of the 21st century. Italy, Iran and South Korea are the most affected countries outside China, where 148, 107 and 40 people have died respectively.

It is being said that the virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan city, where animals were being traded illegally. Hubei province in China has been most affected by the contagious disease, which is also the epicentre of the virus. 

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Lead Image Credit: @drharshvardhan/Twitter