Coronavirus in India: Harsh Vardhan to hold meeting with Delhi govt officials

New Delhi  Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan will hold a meeting with senior officials of the Delhi government on Wednesday to take stock of the preparedness with respect to coronavirus.

Earlier on Tuesday, after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi CM had said that the Centre-state government will work together to stop the outbreak of the deadly disease.

Six positive cases of deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in India so far, the Union Health Ministry informed on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry, the fresh cases of COVID-19 have been reported from New Delhi, Telangana, and Rajasthan where an Italian national has been found positive with the infection in Jaipur. Last month, three cases were recorded in Kerala — who have now recovered and discharged from hospital.

Witnessing the seriousness of the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday tweeted that he has reviewed the situation of coronavirus and India’s preparedness to deal with the global pandemic, assuring citizens that there was no reason to panic.

The Cabinet Secretary held a review meeting through video conference with the secretaries of concerned ministries, chief secretaries and health secretaries of the States to review and assess action taken for containment of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that the Delhi government has made full preparations to tackle the situation. For providing treatment to the patients, 25 Delhi hospitals — including 19 government hospitals and six private hospitals — have been equipped to handle the influx of patients in case of an emergency.’

“Isolation facility has been provided in these hospitals and 230 beds have also been made available. Beds will also be made available to doctors and other staff treating the cases in the hospital. The Delhi government has also arranged for the distribution of more than 3.50 lakh N95 masks. Around 8000 separation kits have also been arranged,” he said. (ANI)