New Delhi, March 15: A COVID-19 emergency fund, rapid response team of doctors, integrated surveillance portal and common research platform were among the top measures listed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as joint measures to combat coronavirus. The proposals were made by him while addressing the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) video-meet on formulating a joint strategy to fight the coronavirus pandemic. PM Modi at SAARC Video-Meet on Coronavirus: 'Don't Underestimate Issue, But Avoid Knee-Jerk Reaction'.

The COVID-19 emergency fund, which was among the first suggestions by Modi as part of the concerted strategy to contain the spread of coronavirus, would receive an initial contribution of USD 10 million from the Indian government. The contributions to the contingency fund would remain voluntary, Modi added.

Watch Video Conference of SAARC Leaders on Coronavirus

"I propose, we create a COVID-19 emergency fund. This could be based on voluntary contributions from all of us. India can start with an initial offer of 10 million US dollars for this fund," he said at the video conference which was attended by his counterparts of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal, apart from a top health department official of Pakistan.

"We are assembling a Rapid Response Team of doctors and specialists in India, along with testing kits and other equipment. They will be on stand-by, to be placed at your disposal, if required," Modi added.

"We have set up an Integrated Disease Surveillance Portal to better trace possible virus carriers and the people they contacted. We could share this Disease Surveillance software with SAARC partners, and training on using this," the Indian PM said.

"Looking ahead, we could create a common research platform, to coordinate research on controlling epidemic diseases within our South Asian region. The Indian Council of Medical Research can offer help coordinating such an exercise," he further added.

The SAARC region has so far reported around 150 cases, with two fatalities. The bulk of the COVID-19 positive patients are in India, which is also the largest in terms of geographical size among all nations of the grouping. Compared to other regions of the world, the numbers are miniscule. Gobally, over 152,000 cases have been recorded with over 5,500 deaths.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 15, 2020 06:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).