Coronavirus: High alert in Jharkhand, Bihar; eye on international tourists.

Source – newindianexpress.com

PATNA/ RANCHI: Bihar and Jharkhand both issued alerts over Coronavirus, Sunday, advising its health surveillance units to keep an eye on suspected cases while issuing standard operating procedures to tackle the same.

Bihar shares over 600 km with Nepal-much of the stretch unguarded.

Officials in the state health secretariat said, there is a worry since there is free-flow of tourists into India and Nepal –mainly on the Buddhist circuit-many of them from China and South-East Asian countries.

With Kathamandu and Kapilvastu in Nepal and Sarnath in UP being starting points for the pilgrim route, Bihar ordered high alert along with the Bihar-Nepal border districts of East and West Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Supaul, Madhubani, Araria and Kishanganj.

Principal Secretary Health, Bihar, Sanjay Kumar said that preventive measures were being taken after a boy in Nepal was diagnosed with the virus.

A standard operating procedure to be followed has also been notified to doctors, he said.

The state has also issued alert to Patna airport for the screening of foreign guests arriving and created a cell under Dr Ragini Mishra for Coronavirus surveillance.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand notified surveillance units in all districts asking doctors to monitor all suspected cases for at least 28 days, while issuing a reporting format for such cases, to a central facility.

The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme units were instructed by Principal Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni to keep a close eye on all entrants.