In what could be a major setback to India’s efforts to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the Centre has now told states that “there appears to be a gap” in the actual monitoring of over 15 lakh incoming international passengers who were screened at Indian airports between January 18 and March 23 and this may “seriously jeapordize” India’s efforts to fight the virus spread.
In a communication sent to all state Chief Secretaries, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has stated that screening of international incoming passengers started at airports from January 18 and that upto March 23, the Bureau of Immigration has shared details of more than 15 lakh incoming international passengers with States and Union Territories for monitoring of Covid-19.
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“However, there appears to be a gap between the number of international passengers who need to be monitored by the States/UTs and the actual number of passengers being monitored,” the Cabinet Secretary has written. “This may seriously jeapordize our efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, given that many amongst the persons who have tested positive for Covid-19 so far in India have history of international travel,” he added.
Underscoring the importance of putting these 15 lakh plus people under “close surveillance” to prevent the spread of the epidemic, the Cabinet Secretary asked called upon states for urgent concerted and sustained action to put such passengers under surveillance immediately as per Health Ministry’s guidelines. The Cabinet Secretary has also asked the Chief Secretaries to get district authorities actively involved in this effort.
Asked about this communication, Health Ministry’s Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said that this letter is part of the regular communication between the Centre and States to ensure they work together to ensure all incoming passengers are monitored with the same pace and same momentum till the logical conclusion.
