New Delhi, Mar 5 (IANS): Amid rising cases of coronavirus in the country, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has slammed Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for claiming that the virus is under control.
Rahul said that it was like "the captain of the Titanic telling passengers not to panic as his ship was unsinkable".
"The Health Minister saying that the Indian Govt has the #coronavirus crisis under control, is like the Captain of the Titanic telling passengers not to panic as his ship was unsinkable. It's time the Govt made public an action plan backed by solid resources to tackle this crisis," he tweeted.
The government is taking steps cautiously as the Home Secretary reviewed the arrangements on Thursday.
As coronavirus cases rose further in India, the central government on Thursday made COVID-19-free certificate mandatory for travellers from Italy and South Korea.
According to the additional travel advisory issued by the government, passengers travelling from Italy and South Korea who want to enter India will have to present a certificate of having tested negative for COVID-19.
"In addition to visa restrictions already in place, passengers travelling from and having visited Italy or Republic of Korea and desirous of entering India will need a certificate of having tested negative for COVID-19 from the designated laboratories authorised by the health authorities of these countries," the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The new regulation will be enforced from March 10. It is however a temporary measure till cases of COVID-19 subside.
Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday met key partners of private healthcare units for case management.
"Universal screening has been mandated since March 4 and has started in most airports from Wednesday evening. It should stabilise today with additional staff being provided by the states," he said.
At present there are 29 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, of which three from Kerala have recovered and have been discharged.