Two test positive for coronavirus in Delhi, Telangana

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 2

The government said on Monday two people in India had tested positive for coronavirus.

One case was detected in New Delhi, while the other was in the southern state of Telangana, the government said in a statement.

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Update on #COVID19:

Two positive cases of #nCoV19 detected. More details in the Press Release.#coronoavirusoutbreak #CoronaVirusUpdate pic.twitter.com/kf83odGo8f

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 2, 2020

The patients had a travel history from Italy and the United Arab Emirates, respectively, the statement said.

Both patients were stable and being closely monitored.

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Meanwhile, Rajasthan health minister Raghu Sharma said an Italian tourist has been found positive of Coronavirus in Jaipur.

In the first sample collected on February 29, the man was tested negative but his condition deteriorated so the second sample was collected which tested positive on Monday, the minister said, adding “since there is a variation in the reports, samples have been sent to NIV-Pune for testing.”

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan issued a statement in the evening saying the patient from Delhi had reported to RML Hospital after he returned from Italy, whole the one in Telangana initially went to a private hospital before he was referred to a government hospital.

“Both the patients had self-reported after they developed symptoms. They tested positive. They are stable and being closely monitored,” he said.

The person in Delhi had self-reported at the RML hospital after returning to India while the one in Telangana had initially gone to a private medical facility and then was referred to a government hospital in the state, the minister said.

As part of the government’s contact tracing efforts to control spread of the epidemic, authorities are in touch with the family members and employees in the offices where the two infected persons work.

Screening

Vardhan advised people to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore and said India was in discussions with authorities in Iran and Italy, two countries badly affected by the infection, to evacuate Indians there.

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19, which originated in China, has spread to over 60 countries, including the US, Italy and Iran.

The health minister, who held a meeting of the Group of Ministers constituted to monitor the current status and actions for prevention and management of the virus, said India has already suspended e-visas/visas issued to Iranian and Chinese nationals over the rising number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in these countries.

“Depending on the situation, visa restrictions may be extended to other countries,” he said.

Asked if there could be a drug shortage in the country as around 70 per cent of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) come from China, Vardhan said he has spoken to the minister in-charge who has informed that “we are adequately prepared to deal with the situation as of now”.

Vardhan said around 1,086 people who returned from Iran in recent times have been recommended for community surveillance.

Authorities are screening travellers arriving from Kathmandu, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan at 21 designated airports in the country for a possible exposure to the virus, he said, adding, a total of 5,57,431 passengers have been screened at airports and 12,431 at major and minor seaports so far.

He also informed that around 10,24,922 people have been screened in the villages of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim bordering Nepal.

Besides, as many as 25,738 people are under community surveillance across India while 37 people with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 across the country are currently hospitalised and their samples have been sent for testing, a senior health ministry official said.

So far 3,245 samples have been tested out of which five have tested positive for COVID-19 while reports of 23 are awaited, the minister added.

The minister further informed that 112 people including nationals from Myanmar (2), Bangladesh (22), Maldives (2), Chinese (6), South African (1), USA (1) and Madagascar (1) have been evacuated from Wuhan and kept at the ITBP camp at Chhawla. They have tested negative in the first round of tests, he said.

He added that 119 Indians and five foreign nationals have also been brought back from Japan through an Air India flight on February 27. They all have tested negative and are kept in the Army Facility at Manesar.

Vardhan also advised people to take precautions and in case of any symptoms report to the nearest public health facility. People may pose their queries at the Health Ministry’s 24×7 Control Room at 011-23978046 or email at ncov2019@gmail.com, he added.

Earlier in India, there were three positive COVID-19 cases reported from Kerala, but all were discharged from the hospital after they recovered from the disease.

More than 2,000 people have been screened at 21 international airports in India in order to contain the disease.

The Centre has evacuated Indians as well as foreign nationals at least thrice from the COVID-19-affected China. Suspected persons were quarantined at the Chhawala and Manesar isolation camps arranged by the Army and the ITBP. With agencies