The Union Cabinet Secretary on Tuesday held review preparedness meeting on novel coronavirus.
The Secretaries in the Ministries of Health, External Affairs, Civil Aviation, Shipping, Defence, Iand B, and Member Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority attended the review meeting.
Screening of passengers with travel history from China has been extended to 13 more airports, taking the total to 20 and health ministry is procuring more thermal scanners for faster screening.
Four more labs, besides NIV, Pune have been geared up for testing clinical samples. Ministry of Shipping has initiated screening at all major ports.
Till yesterday, 155 flights have been screened (total cumulative passengers 33,552). Samples of 20 passengers have so far been tested by NIV, Pune. All were found negative, said the official.
"MEA has made a formal request to China for facilitating the evacuation of Indian Nationals from Wuhan. Ministry of Civil Aviation will make the necessary arrangements for evacuation after approval of the Chinese authorities is received. Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Beijing is in contact with the Indian nationals."
On evacuation, these individuals will be kept in quarantine for 14 days. Necessary arrangements in this regard are being made.
Health Ministry is reviewing the preparedness and screening in all the states daily through video conferencing with Chief Secretaries and Health Secretaries, he said.
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.
( With inputs from ANI )