Coronavirus: Screening mandatory for RSS workers before attending Pratinidhi Sabha meet

All workers and office bearers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will have to undergo screening for coronavirus before attending the meet of its highest decision-making body in Bengaluru, a senior office bearer said on Friday.

The annual meeting of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) will be held in Bengaluru from March 15-17 to decide on the organisation's future course of action.

The Health ministry on Friday put the number of coronavirus cases in the country at 75, which includes a 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi in Karnataka who became the country's first coronavirus fatality. The state has five coronavirus patients.

Taking note of the rising threat of coronavirus, RSS's Prachar Pramukh (joint publicity chief) Narender Thakur said it is mandatory for RSS workers and office bearers to undergo screening for coronavirus before attending the ABPS meeting.

Even security personnel and journalists covering the meeting will be screened, he said, adding the Sangh has made all necessary arrangements in this regard.

Apart from Karnataka, Delhi has reported six positive cases and Uttar Pradesh 10. Karnataka has five coronavirus patients, Maharashtra 11 and Ladakh three.

Besides, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have reported one case each. Kerala has recorded 17 cases, including three patients discharged last month after they recovered from the contagious infection with flu-like symptoms.

The 75 confirmed cases include 17 foreigners -- 16 Italian tourists and a Canadian who was in Uttar Pradesh.

The government has asked people not to panic, saying no community transmission of the virus has been observed and there has only been a few cases of local transmission so far.