AAP's Sanjay Singh stresses on need to introduce public health bill in Rajya Sabha

Amid the rampant increase in cases of Coronavirus in India and across the world, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said on Friday that he will introduce a Public Health (Prevention, control, and management of epidemics) Bill, 2020 in the ongoing Budget session of Rajya Sabha.

At the time when Coronavirus cases are on a rise in several countries, the Bill is highly essential as the rise in cases is similar to the epidemic as mentioned in point 27 of the list of epidemic diseases. The bill is aimed at ensuring preparedness for the 37 epidemic diseases mentioned in the bill and to provide necessary prevention, control, and management measures.

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"With the current coronavirus outbreak which remains a threat for most of our country's population (a variant of SARS) and the absence of vaccinations to cure the virus, we need better preparedness for the epidemic," Sanjay Singh said.

The bill mentions the steps that can be taken up by the state and central government to combat the spread of the deadly COVID-19. Some of the steps include isolating the infected persons, quarantine or restricting the movement of these individuals, conducting a medical examination, among others.

As the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, there is a need for such a bill, the AAP MP said.

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'Controllable pandemic'

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday, while talking to diplomats in Geneva, said that the coronavirus outbreak is a controllable pandemic. According to a statement released by the World Health Organisation, Tedros outlined two main reasons as to why the decision was taken to describe the epidemic as a pandemic.

Tedros said that one reason was the speed and scale of transmission and the others was because "countries are not approaching this threat with the level of political commitment needed to control it.''

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Tedros in the statement was quoted as saying, "This is a controllable pandemic. Countries that decide to give up on fundamental public health measures may end up with a larger problem, and a heavier burden on the health system that requires more severe measures to control the spread. All countries must strike a fbalance between protecting health, preventing economic and social disruption, and respecting human rights."

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