Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday held a review meeting with officials to analyse the situation, preparedness and steps being taken for the prevention and management of the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV). All the officials of the Ministry, departments concerned and States/UTs have been put on high alert for Novel Coronavirus. The Minister said he spoke with the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and assured all support for screening at the border with Nepal, where a confirmed nCoV case had been reported. “We are also writing to the Chief Ministers requesting for personal intervention to review the preparedness,’’ noted the Minister. “The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune is fully geared up to test samples of nCoV.

Source: The Hindu January 25, 2020 10:19 UTC