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Coronavirus cases climb to 107 in India, Modi proposes 10 million dollar SAARC emergency fund
Amid rising coronavirus cases in India, the government has asked people not to panic, saying no community transmission of the virus has been observed and there has only been a few cases of local transmission so far and that it is "not a health emergency" in India at present.
New Delhi
The number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 107 on Sunday, with 12 fresh cases in Maharashtra, the Union Health Ministry said.
The number of cases include two persons who died in Delhi and Karnataka.
While a 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who had recently returned from Saudi Arabia died on Tuesday, a 68-year-old woman in Delhi who had tested positive for coronavirus passed away at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital on Friday night.
Delhi has so far reported seven positive cases and Uttar Pradesh 11. Karnataka has six coronavirus patients while Maharashtra 31, Ladakh three and Jammu and Kashmir 2. Telangana reported three cases. Rajasthan also reported two cases. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have reported one case each.
Kerala has recorded 22 cases, including three patients who were discharged last month after they recovered from the contagious infection with flu-like symptoms.
The total number of confirmed cases includes 17 foreigners -- 16 Italian tourists and a Canadian, the ministry officials said.
Amid rising coronavirus cases in India, the government has asked people not to panic, saying no community transmission of the virus has been observed and there has only been a few cases of local transmission so far and that it is "not a health emergency" in India at present.
With the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, a health ministry official said over 4,000 people who had come in contact with the 93 positive cases have been identified through contact tracing and were being tracked while 42,000 people across the country are under community surveillance.
He said all essential facilities like community surveillance, quarantine, isolation wards, adequate personal protective equipment (PPEs), trained manpower, rapid response teams are being strengthened further in all states and union territories.
An order has been placed for the procurement of an additional over 80,50,000 N95 masks and personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, the health ministry said.
It also clarified the 71-year-old man from Maharashtra's Buldhana who admitted to a private hospital and died during treatment on Saturday has tested negative for coronavirus infection. He had returned from Saudi Arabia recently and had diabetes and high blood pressure.
The government on Wednesday suspended all visas, barring a few categories like diplomatic and employment, in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
It has asked Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel abroad.
All incoming international passengers returning to India should self-monitor their health and follow the required do's and don'ts as detailed by the government.
Making a strong pitch for SAARC nations to jointly combat coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday proposed setting up a COVID-19 emergency fund with India committing USD 10 million initially for it, and asserted that the best way to deal with the pandemic was by coming together, and not growing apart.
Apart from Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza, participated in the video conference.
The underlying message of the video conference was unitedly taking on the pandemic, but Pakistan used the occasion to raise Kashmir, with Mirza calling for the "lockdown" to be eased in Jammu and Kashmir to deal with the coronavirus threat.
In a significant message, Modi asserted that it was important for the SAARC member countries to work together and said the region can best respond to the coronavirus pandemic by "coming together, not growing apart".
Modi said it was important to focus on collaboration, not confusion, and preparation, not panic.
Mirza, in his remarks, also hailed China for its efforts to deal with the coronavirus and urged other SAARC nations to learn best practices from it.
After initial remarks by the leaders, Prime Minister Modi made a series of suggestions which were hailed by the SAARC leaders and representatives.
"I propose we create a COVID-19 Emergency Fund. This could be based on voluntary contributions from all of us. India can start with an initial offer of 10 million US dollars for this fund," Modi said.
"We are assembling a Rapid Response Team of doctors and specialists in India, along with testing kits and other equipment. They will be on stand-by, to be placed at your disposal, if required," Modi told the SAARC leaders.
India had set up an Integrated Disease Surveillance Portal to better trace possible virus carriers and the people they contacted and it could share this disease surveillance software with SAARC partners, Modi said.
"Looking ahead, we could create a common research platform, to coordinate research on controlling epidemic diseases within our South Asian region. The Indian Council of Medical Research can offer help coordinating such an exercise," he said.
In his opening address, Modi said the South Asian region has reported less than 150 coronavirus cases, but "we need to remain vigilant".
"Prepare, but don't panic" has been India's guiding mantra in dealing with coronavirus outbreak, he said.
"We started screening people entering India from mid-January itself, while gradually increasing restrictions on travel," Modi said.
Step-by-step approach helped avoid panic and India made special efforts to reach out to vulnerable groups, he said.
India also responded to the call of its people abroad and evacuated nearly 1,400 Indians from different countries, he said.
Modi also said India helped some citizens of neighbouring countries by evacuating them from coronavirus-hit nations.
Maldivian President Solih backed coordinated approach to deal with COVID-19, asserting that no country can deal with the situation alone.
Lankan President Rajapaksa said SAARC leaders should formulate mechanism to help the economies of the region to tide over problems posed by coronavirus.
He also proposed setting up a SAARC ministerial-level group to deal with issues related to coronavirus.
Hasina hailed PM Modi's suggestions to deal with the pandemic and called for taking the initiative forward by more such video conferences, including one with health ministers of SAARC nations participating.
"Our collective efforts will help us devise a sound and robust strategy for SAARC region to fight coronavirus," Nepal PM Oli said.
Bhutanese PM Lotay Tshering said that it was mportant for all countries of the region to be on same page to combat coronavirus.
Mirza, in his initial remarks, said no nation can afford to be unresponsive to situation in wake of coronavirus outbreak.
"We share common regional concerns on COVID-19. While hoping for best, we have to prepare for worst," the Pakistan PM's Special Assistant on Health said.
Modi on Friday had proposed formulation of a joint strategy by the SAARC nations to fight coronavirus, a suggestion that was backed by all the member states.
Calling on the SAARC nations to set an example for the world, Modi had reached out to the eight-member regional grouping and pitched for a video-conference among its leaders to chalk out a strong strategy to fight coronavirus, which has killed more than 5,000 people globally.
His appeal got a prompt response from Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister Oli, Bhutanese premier Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina and the Afghan government, all of whom welcomed the proposal.
Pakistan's response to the proposal came in after the rest, with the country's Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui saying Mirza will be available to participate in the video-conference.
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