India On Full Alert
| Date :06-Mar-2020 |
By Lalit Sethi :
Municipal authorities have asked hotels to keep a record of foreigners. Several Information technology firms have asked their staff to work from home. The Government has banned the export of 26 basic medicines to avert shortages at home. Airlines have cancelled a large number of flights to many destinations.
INDIA is on near full alert to keep the coronavirus in check as 70 countries and the rest of the world fight the dreaded ailment, which started in China six or more weeks ago and has taken almost a million people in its grip. More than three thousand people have died in China of the disease and a hundred or more in several other countries, including Iran, South Korea, six in Washington State of the US, and several in Italy. Municipal authorities in the National Capital Region and elsewhere have asked hotels to keep a record of foreigners staying there or going there for meals.
Several Information technology firms have asked their staff to work from home to avoid travel and group meetings and interact with colleagues on the telephone. The Government of India has banned the export of 26 basic medicines, including paracetmol and some antibiotics to avert shortages at home. Six schools in Delhi have been closed as a precautionary measure as a student’s parent suspected of being infected had returned from Italy and gone to a restaurant in a five star hotel for a meal. If one has a cold or is coughing, one needs medical attention or take certain basic medication.
This is the advice being given to people. It is best to avoid public places and markets and eating out, away from home. Airlines in India have cancelled a large number of flights to many destinations in the world to avert the spread of virus and protect people. Tourism has been hit as people have cancelled their flight plans as a precautionary measure. Stock markets have been hammered around the world at the end of February and early March, but there was a sign of a little recovery after the bearish trends might have bottomed out.
The Organisation for Economic Development or OECD gave a gloomy report that the virus may halve global growth. The World Bank has unveiled a USD 12 billion aid package that will provide fast-track funds to help countries combat virus outbreak. The funds, some of which are targeted to the world’s poorest nations, can be used for medical equipment or health services and will include expertise and policy advice, the bank said in a statement. After a high level review meeting, the Prime Minister has asked the people to be calm as all efforts are being made to control the spread of virus.
There is no need for panic. India has decided to keep on hold issue of visas from its consulates to several countries as a precautionary measure. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other top BJP leaders also decided to skip the Holi celebrations in view of the coronavirus outbreak. President Ram Nath Kovindalso said that the Rashtrapati Bhawan will not hold the traditional Holi gatherings as a precautionary measure. Businesses, investments and international trading have been affected around the world and economic activity, it is feared, will diminish by one to five per cent. Supplies of spares, including mobile phones, from China have been hit as China is the first and worst hit country by the virus. But the Chinese authorities believe that the peak has been reached and deaths from the disease are now somewhat diminishing.
Nearly all suspected cases of coronavirus from Agra and the National Capital Region have been traced back to a confirmed case from Delhi. The patient arrived from Vienna on February 25 and undertook a trip to Agra shortly afterwards. He met six family members, all of whom have now been quarantined at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi. The Health Ministry said that six cases depicted a “high viral load” during sample testing in Agra. To avoid human contact, it is being suggested that hugging and shaking hands should be avoided and preferably folding hands in greeting one another or people might be desirable to take precautions and check the spread of the virus. Six people in India have so far been confirmed to be infected by coronavirus, including an Italian couple in Rajasthan. Bengaluru reported the first case, after an engineer from the city with a travel history to Dubai and interaction with Hongkong-based people there was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.
The apartment where the software engineer was staying has been sanitised. Japan’s Olympics Minister said the contract to hold the Tokyo Games specifies that the event has to be held during the 2020. Mr. Seiko Hashimoto said so in response to a question in the Upper House of Parliament, clarifying that the Olympics could be held later in the year and would not have to start on July 24 as planned. “The IOC has the right to cancel the Games only if they are not held during 2020. This can be interpreted to mean that the Games could be postponed as long as they are held during the calendar year.”
The Olympics are under a cloud because of the spreading virus after 12 deaths in Japan. Most schools, sports competitions and Olympic-related events in the country have been affected. Four people have been quarantined in Bengaluru on the basis of their contact history, News18 reported. One patient is from Saudi Arabia, one from Japan, one a room mate and one colleague of the Telangana patient who tested positive for corona virus.