Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Mar 17: Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner (DC) Sindhu B Rupesh, observed that of late more and more people are found to be wearing masks because of coronavirus concerns. She observed that healthy people need not wear such masks.
She was speaking at a meeting of industrialists and enterprises in Dakshina Kannada district organized at the auditorium of the DC office on Monday March 16.
"Only those who are ill and suffering from symptoms of the disease need to wear masks. Still, we have taken precautions to ensure that there is no shortage of stock of masks in the district. The department of drugs control will keep an eye on the situation. We have also asked the concerned to monitor selling price of the masks," she explained.
She advised industrial units of the district to take measures to see that none of the diseases acquire the proportions of epidemic in their jurisdictions. "Those who recently travelled to foreign countries and travelled to various parts of the country should be kept under medical observation and 28 days of quarantine. Health condition of their family members, particularly the senior citizens, should be closely tracked," she said. She also requested the industrialists to cut their tour to foreign destinations as far as possible and to postpone business-related foreign meetings.
She said that all steps have been taken to contain the spread of coronavirus infection in the district, passengers arriving at the airport and New Mangalore port are being kept under medical observation, separate isolation wards have been set up in different hospitals, and that ESI hospital services will be utilized to regulate coronavirus infection. She added that even NMPT Hospital has been readied for this task.
She advised industrialists to keep an eye on health condition of their employees and provide treatment to the sick.
Additional deputy commissioner M J Roopa, urban development project director Gayatri Nayak, joint director for industries Gokudas Kamath etc were present.
In the meantime, even though the government had suggested to temporarily suspending use of biometric equipment in government offices because of coronavirus threat, biometric is used for issuance of food grains under ration cards. Sources in the food and civil supplies department said that that on this issue, a meeting of officials of the department was held at Bengaluru on Monday and the doubts will be cleared on Tuesday.