Lok Sabha Question No. 695 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Spread of Corona Virus
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: P.R. Natarajan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 695 TO BE ANSWERED ON 5 TH February, 2021

## SPREAD OF CORONA VIR US

## 695. SHRI NATARAJAN P.R.:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the date on which COVID - 19 virus was first noticed in India;
- (b) if so, the details of preventive measures taken to contain the entry or delay the spread of the virus across the country; and
- (c) the details of the budget provisions made and actual utilisation thereof to meet the expenses ofpreventive management and also mitigate adverse social impact of COVID - 19?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a)India's first  case  of  COVID - 19 was reported on 30 th January 2020. The case was a student studying in Wuhan, China.

- (b): A brief note on actions taken by Government of India to contain the entry and dela spread of virus across the country is attached as Annexure.
- (c) Under the 'India COVID19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness package' of Rs 15,000 crores has been approved by the Cabinet on 22 nd April 2020 with an objective to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID - 19.

As up to 15th January 2021, Rs 11, 361.67 Crores have been utilized for the same.

## Brief note on action taken by Government of India to manage COVID - 19

Government of India has taken a series of actions to prevent, control and mitigate the i COVID - 19 . India  followed a  whole  of  Government  and  whole  of  society  approach.  Hon'ble Prime  Minister,  a  High - level  Group  of  Ministers  (GoM),  Cabinet  Secretary,  Committee  of Secretaries  and  senior  officers  in  MoHFW  continue  to  monitor  public  health  response COVID - 19 in the country.

The public health actions were taken in a pre -emptive, pro - active, graded manner based on the evolving scenario. A number of travel advisories were issued restricting inflow of inter travelers, till such time, commercial flights were suspended on 23 rd March, 2020. Till then, a total  of  14,154  flights  w ith  15,24,266  passengers  have  been  screened  at  these  airports. addition, point of entry screening was also initiated at 12 major seaports, 65 minor sea international land border crossings.

International  travelers  traveling  to  India  under  Vande Bha at  Mission  and  Transport  Bubble scheme  are  being  screened  at  the  airport.      As  on  1 st February  2021,  a  total  of  40.4  lakh passengers and crew members have been screened at the airports. It is a pre -requisite for such travelers to bring negative COVID - 19 test reports on get themselves at the airport, failing t have to undergo institutional quarantine.

In  view  of  detection  of  mutant  variant  of  SARS - CoV - 2  in  United  Kingdom,  all  flights originating from U.K into India were suspended temporarily from 22 nd December to 7 th January 2021. Regulated resumption of limited flights originating from United Kingdom (UK) to I has been allowed from 8 th January 2021. Government of India has taken a number of steps to prevent spread of mutant SARS - CoV - 2 variant spr ead in the country:

- i. All flights to UK were banned till from December 23, 2020 to 7th January 2021.
- ii. Resumption of limited international flight services to/from UK has been allowed effect  from  8th  January  2021  in  a  calibrated  manner  by  initially  allowing  f movement  to/from  UK  to  five  international  airports  i.e.  Delhi,  Mumbai,  Bengalu Hyderabad and Chennai only.
- iii. All the passengers arriving from U.K. should be carrying Negative RT - PCR Test Report for  which  test  should  have  been  conducted  within  72  hours  prior  to  undertaking journey.
- iv. All  international  passengers  who  arrived  in  India  from  UK or  transit  through  UK  are again mandatorily tested for COVID - 19 by RT - PCR at the airport.
- v. All  passengers  and  their  contacts  who  tested  positive  for  RT - PCR  are  isolated,  their samples are sent for whole genome sequencing to detect UK variant.
- vi. All internat ional passengers who test negative at Airports are quarantined for 14 days
- vii. Detailed guidelines are available at: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/ExtensionofvalidityofStandardOperatingProcedureforEpi demiologicalSurveillance&ResponseforthenewvariantofSARSCoV2.pdf

Community  surveillance  through  Integrated  Disease  Surveillance  Programme  is  ongoing  i containment zones in accordance with COVID - 19 containment plan.

The  laboratory  network  is  continuously  being  strengthened.  As  of  1 st February  2021,  total operational (initiated independent testing) government laboratories reporting to ICMR is 1 addition,  1147  Private  Laboratories  have  been  approved  for  COVID -19  Testing.  A  total  of 19,77,52,057 samples have been tested as on 1 st February 2021. At present India is testing about a 7 - 8 lakh samples a day.

As on 2 nd February 2021, a total of 15,288 CO VID treatment facilities with 12,54,128 dedicated isolation bed without O 2 support have been created. Also, a total of 2,67,925 oxygen supporte isolation beds and 79,439 ICU beds (including 40,327 ventilator beds).

Clinical management guidelines for COVID - 19 have been updated from time to time based on the  emerging  evidence  and  have  been  widely  disseminated.  To  study  more  about  COVID sequelae,  follow  up  clinics  have  been  established  in  AIIMS  and  other  Central  Governm hospitals. A Post - COVID  Management P rotocol was released by Ministry of Health &Family Welfare, that followed a holistic approach -a blend of treatment from modern medicine as well as AYUSH system of medicine.

States are being supported in terms of supply of logistics. So far 1.69 crore of PPE Kits, 4.08 crores N - 95 masks, 11.16 crore tablets of Hydroxychloroquine, 36,948 ventilators and 1,02, oxygen  cylinders  have  been  supplied  to  States/UTs/  Central  Government  hospitals  so  far reported on 2 nd February 2021).  In addition, oxygen concentrators are also being supplied States.

On the drug development front, the Principal Scientific Advisor to the GoI, has consti S&T Core Group on COVID19. Under the aegis of the S&T Core Group on COVID19 , a Task Force has been constituted focused on Repurposing of Drugs for COVID - 19.

Two COVID - 19  vaccines (Covishield & Covaxin) have received approval of Drug Controlle General  for  Restricted  Emergency  Use  and  a  rollout  of  the  same  has  been  started  from 16 th January 2021. Both the vaccines have established safety & immunogenicity. As on 2 nd February 2021, a total of 39,50,156 persons have been vaccinated against COVID - 19.

In India more than 28,000 cold chain points are being utilized to store and distrib ute COVID-19 vaccine to ensure that vaccine reach to the last point. GOI/ manufacturers will distribut to state stores. States will distribute this further to regional, divisional and district

A Co-WIN: Digital Platform for COVID 19 Vac cination Delivery has been developed and is being used for inventory management and delivery of COVID - 19 vaccines, including tracking of the vaccination process.

In  addition  to  Covishield  &  Covaxin,  4  other  vaccines  (from  Zydus  Cadila,  Sputnik Biologic al E and Gennova) are in various phases of clinical trial in India.

Various cadres of personnel and volunteers across sectors and departments for COVID rel works and maintenance of other essential medical services have been  , trained through re made available on the website of MoHFW , iGOT (online platform) by DOPT ( https://igot.gov.in/igot/ ).Close to 1.36 million courses have been registered into till date.

## MoHFW website is being updated

daily to provide general public with information on current status of COVID - 19 spread in India. Communication material is also being hosted on MoHFW website and through social media. Prime  Minister  on  8th  October  2020  launched  the  'Jan  Andolan  for  COVID - 19  Appr opriate Behavior' campaign in view of the upcoming festivals and winter season as well as the opening up of the economy. The campaign aims to encourage People's Participation (Jan Andolan). It endeavors to be a low - cost high intensity campaign with the key messages of &; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene.

Ministry  of  Ayush,  Department  of  Health  Research,  Department  of  Science  and  Technology Department of Bio - technology, Defence Research Development Organization and other research institutions are in the forefront of research ranging from epidemiology, natural histo disease, genomics, diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines etc.