The deadly Covid-19 pandemic could be controlled in the State with community support in maintaining social distancing, use of masks and frequent hand washing, said Dr Srinath Reddy, Health Advisor to the State Government on Thursday.
Delivering a talk on “Learning from Covid-19” through videoconferencing from Gurugram, Dr Reddy, who is now an executive member of the Covid Solidarity Group Trial of WHO, highlighted the origin of coronavirus, the present situation in the world and future strategies in battle against the virus.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Ministers Pratap Jena, Ashok Chandra Panda and Dibya Shankar Mishra participated in the discussion.
“As no vaccine or particular drug has been developed, social distancing, mask use and frequent hand washing are best measures to check spread of the virus,” said the doctor.
“Public cooperation and community’s active participation is the only shield that can protect us from the deadly infection,” he said.
He also suggested to the State Government to look after the elderly persons as they are more vulnerable to the disease.
Stating that the virus is believed to have originated in bats and pangolins, he said it causes of both pneumonia and fatal thrombosis. The virus is climatic temperature neutral.
The infection is transmitted through droplets of different sizes, he said.