Taming the devil: Say Namaste to check virus spread

Hyderabad: A day after the first Coronavirus case was confirmed in Telangana, the state government has decided to take various measures on a war-footing basis.

The best advice given by the government is to follow the Indian system of greeting, 'Namaste' with folded hands instead of shaking hands with unknown persons.

A high-power committee consisting of Health Minister Eatala Rajender, MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao, Panchayat Raj Minister Errrabelli Dayakar Rao, reviewed the preparedness of the administration in handling the situation in the state.

The committee felt that it should open more isolation wards particularly in other parts of the state as a precautionary measure.

The government has allocated Rs 100 crore so that the Health department can gear up to meet the challenge and contain spread of the virus.

The Health minister sent an SoS to the Union Health Ministry for the supply of safety masks as the state was facing a severe shortage of masks.

As a precautionary measure, Gandhi Hospital authorities have collected the samples of 45 people with whom the virus-infected techie who had been in contact have been collected and sent for examination.

It is reported that the techie had come in contact with about 88 members and all of them are under scanner, according to the Health Minister.

The hospitals which will now have isolation wards are King Koti, Vikarabad and Military Hospital. Hospitals which are already having isolation wards are Gandhi Hospital, Fever Hospital and Chest Hospital.

At present, about 200 beds have been earmarked for the suspected Coronavirus cases. The government is also mulling to have a dedicated hospital for virus patients in case there is a rise in cases.

However, the authorities are confident that there would not be any rise because the virus cannot sustain in this hot weather.

Meanwhile, as a preventive measure, the government has come up with an advisory asking people not to shake hands, wash hands with sanitizers, use handkerchief while sneezing or coughing, visit a doctor if found with related symptoms and postpone travel abroad.

The government is also sending a 15-member team of medical experts to Kerala to study the way they tackled virus and prevented its spread.

The minister advised the people to also make use of 104 helpline to seek counselling and guidance of medical experts on this issue.