Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
Raising the red flag, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has told the state governments that over 15 lakh international travellers came to India between January 18 and March 23, but there appears to be a “gap in monitoring” that could impact the country’s fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
Gauba has asked state governments to step up the surveillance of international passengers who reached India before the government banned commercial flights from abroad from landing in the country.
He said there was a gap in the number of passengers who should have been monitored and the actual number.
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“There is a need for monitoring all of them,” the Cabinet Secretary stressed in a letter to all chief secretaries on Thursday.
“I have been informed that up to March 23, cumulatively, the Bureau of Immigration has shared details of more than 15 lakh incoming international passengers with states and Union Territories for monitoring COVID-19. However, there appears to be a gap between the number of international passengers who need to be monitored by states and UTs and the actual number of passengers being monitored,” the letter says.
“This may seriously jeopardise our efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, given that many amongst the people who have tested positive so far in India have a history of international travel,” he said.
“I understand that the ministry of health and family welfare has repeatedly emphasized this and requested the states and UTs to take immediate steps in this regard,” Rajiv Gauba added.
Meanwhile, India has suspended all domestic and international passenger flights till April 14 in view of the 21-day nationwide lockdown.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 announced a “total lockdown” across the country, asking people to “forget about stepping out of their homes” for the next three weeks.
The number of Coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 724 with 17 deaths so far.
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