Health Minister seeks cooperation from members in dealing with

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday sought cooperation from Lok Sabha members to deal with the coronavirus outbreak and asked them to increase awareness about it in their respective constituencies.

The minister said some members have expressed apprehensions about screening lapses at airports.

He said it was not the case that people screened at airports have not got affected by this virus as symptoms may appear after some days.

He said steps are being taken to track people who are affected.

About 35,000 people are engaged in community surveillance, he said, adding the ministry is constantly in touch with states on the matter and also holding meetings.

He said detailed tracing system is in place for people who are found positive.

"There should be no misconception that there is a lapse in screening," he said, adding initially on January 17, screening was started at seven airports but now it is happening at 30 airports.

Passengers of all flights are being screened properly and there should be no doubt in screening, he added.

Replying to questions about testing labs in the country, he said these tests can not be done at any labs.

"Currently 51 labs and 56 collections centres are working...so there are about 100 coordination centres," the minister said, adding India has sent a team including scientist and lab equipment to Iran.

Customs clearance is going on as these equipments weigh in tonnes, he informed.

Iran has stated that they do not have adequate testing facilities, he said adding, the lab which was sent to Iran will be established there itself.

On bringing back Indians, the minister said the government brought back people from Wuhan, Japan and now from Iran.

Seeking cooperation from members, the minister said it is the responsibility of the government to bring back all Indians safely.

He also asked members to discourage gatherings at their respective constituencies.

The minister said helplines are set up they are getting international calls as well.

States too are setting helplines, he said.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said opposition members too are ready to participate and asked the government to include them in the effort.

On this, Harsh Vardhan said, "Please disseminate the message in your area and please educate people".