Centre may take steps to prepare for possible evacuation of Indian nationals in Wuhan

The Centre may take key steps to prepare for the possible evacuation of Indian nationals in Wuhan, officials said here on Monday.

The decision was made after a meeting chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary to review the situation arising out of novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

The Health Ministry, in a statement, said that the Ministry of External Affairs will make a request to the Chinese authorities, accordingly.

The meeting was attended by secretaries in the Ministries of Health, External Affairs, Civil Aviation, Labour, Defence, Information and Broadcasting and other officials.

According to Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, nearly 29,707 passengers from almost 137 flights have been screened till Sunday.

"Samples of 12 passengers were referred to NIV Pune and no positive case has been reported so far. The ministeries of Civil Aviation and Health will make arrangements for transport and quarantine facilities respectively," he added.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation will issue an instruction to airlines for managing and notifying anybody reporting illness on all flights with direct or indirect connectivity to China.

It will also facilitate in-flight announcements and distribution of health cards to all flights with direct or indirect connectivity to China.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has been directed to ensure that integrated check posts initiate screening of visitors across the Nepal border. All the states have been requested to provide health staff for these check posts. SSB/ BSF/Immigration officers manning integrated check posts have been sensitised.

The Ministry of Shipping will initiate entry screening at the International ports having traffic from China.

Earlier in the day, the Health Ministry also held a review meeting with chief secretaries to review the preparedness and screening in five states sharing a border with Nepal, in addition to secretaries (Health) of other states.

They have been asked to ensure that community-level monitoring of passengers is undertaken through health staff.

Coronaviruses (nCoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

A novel coronavirus is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.