Avoid frozen meat; shaking hands while greeting in public: Delhi govt advisory on coronavirus

The Delhi government on Wednesday issued a health advisory on the novel coronavirus (nCov) and prescribed do's and dont's for the public to ward off any infection, including avoiding frozen meat, officials said.

A round-the-clock control room has also been set up at the Directorate General of Health Services' headquarters to address queries related to the virus.

India has so far reported three positive cases of nCoV from Kerala, after its outbreak in China's Hubei province.

In its health advisory, the Delhi government has asked people to exercise caution, like cleaning hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub; covering nose and mouth while coughing; sneezing using tissue; avoiding close contact with anyone with cold or flu like symptoms; avoiding frozen meat, besides isolation of symptomatic patients for at least 14 days.

Among the do's prescribed to people, the government has asked them to frequently wash hands with soap and water; avoid crowded places; stay more than an arm's length distance from persons sick with flu; take adequate sleep and rest; and drink plenty of water and consume liquid diet and eat nutritious food, the advisory said.

It also said "persons suffering from influenza-like illness must be confined at home" and those suspected with such illness must consult a doctor.

On the don'ts, it has advised people to not touch eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands; avoid hugging, kissing and shaking hands while greeting people in public; not spit in public places; avoid excessive physical exercise and disposal of used napkin or tissue paper in open areas; not touching surfaces usually used by public such as railings, door gates, avoid smoking in public places; and not go for unnecessary testing.

A 24x7 control Room has been established at DGHS (HQ), and people may contact it on following number for any query relating to the nCoV -- 011-22307145, 22300012, 22300036.

The coronavirus strain officially named as 2019 n-CoV has wreaked havoc in China and abroad, and by the end of Tuesday, a total of 490 people had died of the disease and 24,324 confirmed cases of the virus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions, China's National Health Commission reported on Wednesday.

The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said aerobridges will be used at at dedicated gates of seven international airports (Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Cochin, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai) to screen passengers from China, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong for novel coronavirus (nCoV) to ensure effective prevention.

The novel coronavirusis a contagious virus that causes respiratory infection, can transfer from human to human. Its symptoms include, fever, difficulty in breathing, coughing, tightness in chest, pneumonia and kidney failure, the advisory said.