CHENNAI: The State government has put all the airports and ports on high alert, following the outbreak of a new strain of Coronavirus in China, which is reported to have claimed 41 lives. Officials said that all passengers and shipments coming from China, especially from places reporting outbreak of the disease, are being screened. The move comes a day after the Union Health Ministry issued a travel advisory in this regard.
The new strain of the virus, called the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV), falls in the same family as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Speaking to the media on Saturday, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar assured all guidelines are being implemented to keep the State safe. State Health Secretary Beela Rajesh affirmed that her department had received a communique from the Centre on the matter.
“The State has been under surveillance for Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) since long,” says Director of Public Health K Kolandaisamy. “Now, we have sensitised the doctors to look out for syndromes of nCoV as well.”
Staying prepared
Port Health Officer S Senthilnathan says the Centre’s communique alerting health officials at ports and airports to begin the screening arrived Wednesday. “We have been asked to be ready to isolate and transport sick passengers coming from Wuhan Province with cough, fever, and breathlessness,” he said.
Not enough is known about Coronavirus, says WHO
Passengers with a history of fever and cough are being thoroughly scanned upon entering the State, he added. A top health official told Express in Chennai that the State is yes to issue any alert and is following a ‘wait and watch’ approach to analyse the severity of the virus and infections in the country.Director of Public Health K Kolandaisamy told Express that the State is already under surveillance for Influenza Like Illnesses (ILI).
“After the outbreak of the new strain of Coronavirus, we have sensitised the doctors to looking out for syndromes of the virus, which is in the same family as the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory syndrome (MERS). Doctors have been put on alert,” he said.When Express contacted officials on whether any alert has been sounded on screening passengers for the virus in Tamil Nadu, a senior airport official in Chennai said they are yet to get any alert from airport health officials.
Following the outbreak of the virus in China, the World Health Organization issued an advisory.
It said, “Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from common cold to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. This nCoV has not been previously identified in humans.
“Much remains to be understood about the new coronavirus. Not enough is known about the 2019-nCoV to draw definitive conclusions about how it is transmitted, clinical features of disease and the extent to which it has spread. The source also remains unknown.”
41lives perished in Wuhan city in China due to the respiratory illness recently. Minister C Vijayabaskar said, “We will start screening passengers from China at airports.”