Indian missions in 12 countries will be asked to issue instructions to those wanting to come to India that if they display any of the symptoms of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, they will be turned away from Indian airports or put in quarantine. The countries include the US, the UK, China, Germany and France.
The visitors will be asked to sign an undertaking that they have not been in contact with SARS patients.
Officials admitted that they had no idea how practical these measures would be in preventing the spillover of the epidemic to India, but pointed out that the government's medical apparatus could only do what it had the capacity for.
Following a meeting of officials of the ministries of shipping, aviation and home affairs, the Airports Authority of India and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases along with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the World Health Organisation, a proactive battleplan was put in place in the health ministry to tackle the threat of the epidemic.
"We have decided that no masks are needed now because if people panic, they will lose all sense of proportion," Health Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
A case index has been set up to identify the disease, which has symptoms so similar to everyday ailments that it can be mistaken for another species of the fever caused by several viruses that rage in various parts of India.
Immigration officials as well as doctors will be posted at airports round the clock to screen passengers from countries where the disease has been reported.
The diagnostic kits to detect and sequester the virus were developed two days ago. Orders to buy these kits have been placed by the health ministry and they will be located at the National Institute of Virology and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.
Three hospitals in Delhi have been notified and guidelines issued on how to treat patients displaying SARS symptoms. Letters have also been issued to chief secretaries of several states on the potential health hazard.
According to information available with the WHO, 1,336 SARS cases have been detected in China and Hong Kong with 58 deaths reported from all over the world.
