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| India to set up Center-State Joint Action Group to tackle SARS |
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Alarmed over the SARS disease, the Indian Health Ministry on Thursday decided to set up the Center-State Joint Action Group to tackle the disease.
Briefing reporters after a high-level inter-ministerial meeting and discussions with state health secretaries, Health Minister Sushma Swaraj said the government will constitute the Center-State Joint Action Group headed by the union health secretary to monitor the situation.
The group will comprise of directors general of health services of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Nagaland and members from the Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority, Ports Authority and a representative from the WHO.
The states would give the group an update on SARS situation everyday, she said.
Asked about new cases, Director General of Health Services S.P.Agarwal said a total of 17 suspected cases have been reported so far, of which four - three in Pune and one in Goa- have been tested positive for the SARS virus.
Swaraj said that strict instructions have been given to the airport authorities to screen each and every passenger for suspected SARS symptoms.
"I am happy to note that all states are geared up and they are taking the disease with seriousness it deserves," said Swaraj.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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