Mumbai: To control the outbreak of the coronavirus in Maharahstra, the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) has instructed district health officials to keep a close tab on patients suffering from severe respiratory illnesses.
The move comes after the death toll in China rose to six and the number of cases jumped to almost 300.
Dr Archana Patil, director, Maharashtra State Family Welfare, said all the health officials have been instructed about coronavirus and are asked to report the state health department if any suspect cases are seen.
“An advisory has been issued to all the States and UTs for SARI surveillance to pick up any travel related case reported in the community and follow up contacts of suspect or confirmed cases,” she said.
The Health Secretary has also written to the states and union territories to review their preparedness, identifying gaps and strengthening core capacities in the area of surveillance, laboratory support infection prevention and control, logistics, risk communication and in particular, hospital preparedness in terms of isolation and ventilator management of critically ill patients of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI).
Dr Rahul Tambe, senior consultant, internal medicine, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital said the virus is new to all infectious disease experts of India as no cases are reported in the country till now.
“As per the available medical reports, the virus has similar reactions to acute respiratory syndrome such as recurrent fever, cough and breathlessness at a primary stage and severe lung damage and pneumonia at advanced stages.
There is no need to panic, but it’s recommended to maintain a healthy diet, wearing masks when in crowded public places and see a clinician immediately if you have any of these symptoms,” said Dr Tambe.
Meanwhile, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has activated a health counter and have screened 198 travellers under thermal scanners at the pre-immigration area for arriving passengers.
“All passengers travelling from China to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), will have to undergo a thermal screening as a precaution,” MIAL said.
MoCA has directed for all logistics support and arrangements to be made quickly to screen passengers arriving from China, including Hong Kong, at Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin in addition to the earlier three airports at Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
