Government not taking coronavirus threat seriously, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the government of not taking the coronavirus threat seriously.

“The Corona Virus is an extremely serious threat to our people and our economy. My sense is the government is not taking this threat seriously. Timely action is critical,” he tweeted.

The toll in the coronavirus outbreak in China has risen to 1114. Ninety of the victims died Tuesday.

On January 31 and February 1, the central government evacuated over 600 Indians from China’s Wuhan city, the epicentre of the outbreak. The evacuees who were flown to Delhi are now housed in two quarantine centres – one in the national capital and the other in Manesar in Haryana.

The government has also set up screening facilities in many airports, seaports and border check points with Nepal to detect any possible case of coronavirus positive patients.

India has so far reported three positive



cases of the virus, all of them Kerala. Rahul Gandhi is an MP from Kerala’s Wayanad. Two of the patients, one in Thrissur and the other in Alappuzha, have since recovered and the state health authorities are waiting for the final results from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. According to a Kerala health department official, the third patient in Kasargode (north Kerala) is also responding well to treatment.

Kerala had also put hundreds of others including many who have returned from China in quarantine to stop possible infection.

On February 3, the Kerala government had declared a state of ‘calamity’ after the third positive case was reported before lifting the status four days later after one positive case of coronavirus turned negative and tests in 67 suspected patients gave clean chits.

The state government carried out a massive drive to contain the secondary infection including an awareness campaign at the grassroots level.