Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday directed her party’s Chief Ministers in four states and a Union Territory (UT) to put in place effective response and preparedness measures for tackling the spread of coronavirus. She asked them to set up quarantine facilities urgently, activate protocols for contact identification and isolation, launch awareness campaigns and helplines and issue advisories to people to avoid public gatherings. In a letter to the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Puducherry, Gandhi said there is an urgent need for an effective domestic response to contain the spread of the epidemic. “The capacity of public healthcare facilities must be augmented to respond to any potential outbreak. Increased disease surveillance, and strengthening testing facilities could help early detection and containment. The state government must lend all possible support to public healthcare responders to carry out their duty effectively,” she wrote. Pointing out that the WHO has warned of a severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), Gandhi asked state governments to ensure an adequate supply, especially in public healthcare facilities.
