Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said on Thursday that coronavirus is concentrated to cities in India, and has not reached the villages. He also advised the government to not spread panic.
“The spread of coronavirus is concentrated to cities, it’s not there in villages. I would request the government to check those who regularly visit abroad. There is no doubt that we should be careful, but there is no need to spread panic,” Yadav said in the Rajya Sabha.
“There are medicines in Ayurveda which can stave off the virus,” Yadav further said.
His remarks came after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan made a statement in the Upper House where he listed the steps being taken by the government to check the spread of coronavirus.
“Till March 4, there have been 29 positive cases of coronavirus in India and a total of 28,529 persons were brought under community surveillance and are being monitored,” said Vardhan.
I am daily reviewing the situation. A Group of Ministers (GoM) is also monitoring the situation, he added.
The Health Minister also said that universal screening for all international passengers will now be conducted.
The fast-spreading coronavirus has reached at least 80 countries with more new cases now reported outside China where the flu-like illness first emerged late last year. Globally, there have been over 95,300 cases and more than 3,200 deaths.
Mainland China reported 139 new cases, bringing the total number of cases to 80,409. The uptick was driven by an increase in cases in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, where new infections climbed to 131 from 114 a day earlier.
The virus’ global spread has crushed hopes for stronger growth this year and will hold 2020 global output gains to their slowest pace since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.
