Coronavirus | Health Secretary gets more powers to enhance preparedness

Members of a family wear protective mask to fight COVID-19 as they comes out from the railway station in Bhubaneswar on March 12, 2020. (Source: The Hindu)

The Union Home Secretary delegated his power to the Health Secretary to enhance the preparedness and containment of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

In an order, the Home Ministry said: “In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 69 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Home Secretary, being Chairman of the National Executive Committee (NEC), hereby delegates its power to Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to enhance the preparedness and containment of COVID-19 and the other ancillary matters connected thereto.”

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The order also read that it shall be deemed to have come into effect from January 17, 2020. The number of COVID-19 cases in India mounted to more than 70.

“Among the new cases, eight were reported on Wednesday from Kerala and one each from Rajasthan and Delhi. The total cases in the country include three Kerala patients who have recovered and have been discharged from the hospital,” the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday.

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The flu-like illness was first reported from China’s Wuhan city in December last year which eventually turned into an outbreak. The COVID-19 has affected over 100 countries so far, with total number of cases crossing 1 lakh globally.