New Delhi:Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said central teams have been sent to conduct thermal screening of Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) at seven designated airports - New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.
Although no nCoV cases have been detected in the country so far, the government is reviewing and monitoring the preparedness on a daily basis.
According to the Health Ministry, these teams will consist of a public health expert, a clinician and a microbiologist. They are scheduled to reach their respective destination on Sunday.
"They (teams) shall review the end-to-end preparedness for management and control of nCoV in the states, including that at the airports, for thermal screening and transferring of patients to hospitals for isolation, and shall also visit the tertiary hospitals attached to the airports for reviewing the isolation wards and availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and masks etc", said the Health Ministry in a statement.
The teams will coordinate with the state health secretaries to explore all avenues to strengthen states' preparedness, and also review the adherence to mandatory guidelines connected with infection control and surveillance.
A 24x7 Call Centre (+91-11-23978046) has been setup to address public queries.
"The call center will also monitor the list of contacts furnished by Ministry of External Affairs; provide details of district and state surveillance officers to those who seek them; and in case of any clinical query, direct the concerned to the relevant Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) officer", said the Health Ministry.