Ban any travel to and from Covid-hit China, says Congress' Manish Tewari

Congress leader and MP Manish Tewari has demanded flight ban with China and stringent COVID restrictions in the country. China has reported an uptick in COVID cases with hospitals overcrowded with patients. He said, "The reports available in the public space suggest that stringent COVID protocols must be put in place. One of them can be travel restrictions to and from China." There is a spike even in the United States, Japan and Korea, henceforth India should be on high alert, he added.

However, Serum Institute of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla has assured India that there is no need to panic. He said, "The news of rising COVID cases coming out of China is concerning, we need not panic given our excellent vaccination coverage and track record. We must continue to trust and follow the guidelines set by the Government of India and MoHFW."

The central government has called for a high-level meeting on Wednesday to discuss the COVID situation. The health ministry has also asked states and UTs to send all positive samples to INSACOG for testing on a daily basis.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has also urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to follow COVID protocols. The Congress leader is heading the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Mandaviya has asked Rahul Gandhi to allow only vaccinated people to participate, or call off the latter phases of the march.

The Health Ministry and INSACOG are keeping a sharp watch on the situation. The ministry has called for early detection, isolation, testing and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases to detect and contain COVID-19 outbreaks. It said that in view of the sudden spurt in cases in Japan, US, South Korea, Brazil and China, “it is essential to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples”. It also asked states to send samples of all positive cases to INSACOG on a daily basis.
 

Also read: COVID-19 cases in China concerning, but no need to panic, says Adar Poonawalla

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