Coronavirus Outbreak: Situation under control, no need to panic says, Gujarat Deputy CM

“Till today (Wednesday), a total of 2,231 tourists have come to Gujarat from corona-affected countries, out of which, 1,207 tourists have completed their 28 days’ observation period. The health of all those tourists is good. The health department is monitoring these tourists daily. So far, samples of 56 suspected cases were taken and all 56 have tested negative,” said Patel

Patel was replying to an urgent notice related to the spread of the virus raised by Congress MLA Naushad Solanki and BJP MLAs Dushyant Patel, Pradeep Parmar and Seemaben Mohile.

Bringing up the issue, Solanki said it was fortunate that no deaths from the virus had been reported in the state so far, but added, “The kind of seriousness prevailing (in the world) regarding coronavirus is not commensurate in Gujarat. If the virus spreads in the slums of Ahmedabad, Rajkot or Surat, then it will be impossible to control the same. There should be a prohibition on places like cinema halls, malls and other places where people gather in large numbers for (the next) 20-25 days. I demand that a medical protocol is created in the state.”

Replying to Solanki, Patel said that while in some states of India positive cases of coronavirus were detected, “Fortunately, so far, we have been able to keep the virus at bay.”
Patel said

the state government was taking all the necessary steps to contain any potential spread of the virus, in accordance with guidelines of the Central government.

“There is no need to create panic at this stage as suggested by Naushadbhai. Even in China which is such a huge country, only 5-7 cities – which are affected – have been blocked completely. The rest of the areas (of China) are moving on as usual,” said Patel.

The deputy CM added that the state government had set up a laboratory for testing suspected cases with assistance from the Centre. A total of 120 and 150 testing kits have been made available at laboratories in Ahmedabad and Jamnagar respectively, he added.

He added that 576 isolation wards have been set up in the state while keeping 204 ventilators on standby.

Patel also said that apart from screening passengers at airports and ports, the state government has also created screening facilities at hotels frequented by foreign travelers.