As the number of people tested positive for coronavirus touched 29 on Wednesday, there was a rush for buying sanitizers and masks with chemists running out of stocks at many shops. Paytm has asked all its employees at its Gurugram office to work from homes for the next 15 days after an employee, who had returned from Italy, was tested positive. Most of the political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have cancelled their Holi Milan gatherings in view of the coronavirus scare.

To add to the anxiety of common people, a large number of fake news videos are circulating on social media. One of the videos, from an American news channel, reported that more than 15 lakh people in China have been afflicted with the virus and on an average, nearly 50,000 people are either dying or being shot by authorities. Nobody knows from where this news channel obtained its facts, but this video is surely going to strike fear in the minds of common people.

There should not be any panic because out of the 29 people found positive in India, 18 are Italian nationals. Two of them are being treated in Jaipur and the remaining 16 have been quarantined in a hospital in Delhi NCR. Similarly, six people in Agra were tested positive after 13 people met a man who had returned from Italy with the virus.

Rajasthan government is trying to contact 213 people who had come in contact with the group of Italian tourists who had visited tourist spots. Of them, 51 reported negative after tests, while reports are awaited for the rest. The group had visited Jhunjhnu, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur and Bikaner. The entire Ramada Hotel in Jaipur, where the tourist group stayed, is being sanitized. In Noida, tests of students from two private schools have been found negative but they are being quarantined as a precautionary measure.

A nationwide campaign is on to screen all passengers coming from international flights, while similar screening is on at India-Pakistan Attari and Dera Baba Nanak check posts.

Let me make some facts clear. Coronavirus is not fatal in all infection cases. Overall, only 3.5 per cent of the total number of people found positive in China and other countries have died. The only worrying point is this virus travels very fast but it does not mean that the virus is floating in the air. Only close contact with people infected with virus can cause this disease to spread. People should follow the do’s and dont’s carefully, keep sanitizers handy, avoid shaking hands with people and desist from touching their eyes, nose and face frequently.

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