The novel coronavirus has now entered India (Page 1, “Country’s first coronavirus infection confirmed in Kerala”, January 31). It would be very pertinent for the government health agencies and other stakeholders to take the requisite and immediate precautions in preventing its further spread. Existing surveillance and screening mechanisms must be strengthened at vulnerable points. Most importantly, the lessons learnt from the earlier handling of other virulent viruses such as Nipah in Kerala and Zika in Rajasthan should ideally enable India’s health agencies to fine-tune their overall preparedness in handling any possible outbreak. The government must also quickly disseminate awareness bulletins and timely health advisories. In view of the dangerous ramifications of the outbreak, the overall strategy requires structured and effective coordination with the World Health Organisation and other apex medical bodies.
G. Ramasubramanyam,
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
One fails to understand how and why the Ministry of AYUSH issued an advisory suggesting medication to treat the coronavirus infection (OpEd, “A troubling prescription”, January 31). Is it an example of half-baked knowledge at play? Some viral diseases are dreadful, and there are times when all allopathic doctors can do is to maintain vigil using vital data and then attempting symptomatic treatment.
J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda, Telangana
