One fresh case each in Delhi, Jaipur, Telangana after all 3 earlier patients in Kerala recuperated
Days after three coronavirus-infected patients walked out of a Kerala hospital completely cured, three new positive cases of the deadly virus were reported on Tuesday — one each in Delhi, Telangana and Jaipur.
Giving details of the fresh cases, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the person from Delhi had travelled to Italy, while the other patient who has tested positive for the coronavirus infection in Telangana had recently travelled to Dubai.
The Telangana man is undergoing treatment in an isolation ward at a hospital in Hyderabad, while Delhi man is being treated in a hospital in Delhi. “Both the patients had self-reported after they developed symptoms. They tested positive. They are stable and being closely monitored,” he told reporters.
The person in Delhi had 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.
Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma said an Italian tourist has been found positive of coronavirus in Jaipur. He is being treated at Jaipur’s SMS Hospital.
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.”
Talking to reporters here after the meeting of the Group of Ministers on the disease, Dr Harsh Vardhan said the Indian Government is in discussion with Iran and Italian authorities to evacuate Indians there.
“Indian citizens need to avoid non-essential travel to Singapore, Republic of Korea, Iran and Italy. People coming from Republic of Korea, Iran and Italy or having such travel history since February 10, 2020 may be quarantined for 14 days on arrival in India,” he said. Universal screening is being done for the travellers from 12 countries for all the flights from China, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Nepal, Indonesia, Iran and Italy at the earmarked aero-bridges.
As many as 25,738 people are under community surveillance across the country while thirty seven people across the country are currently hospitalised after showing symptoms of COVID-19.
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.
Earlier, three students from Kerala, who had confirmed to have the virus, were discharged from hospital after they recovered and tested negative for the pathogen. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday raised its global risk assessment of the new coronavirus to its highest level after the epidemic spread to sub-Saharan Africa and financial markets slumped.
The WHO said the virus appears to particularly hit those over the age of 60 and people already weakened by other illness.
The deadly virus, first detected in China in December last year, has spread to more than 60 countries and infected more than 88,000 people. China has so far witnessed 2,912 deaths due to coronavirus while the total global death toll from the outbreak crossed 3,000 on Monday.
The detection of the fresh cases spooked the stock market which squandered away the gain of nearly 800 Sensex points to crash by nearly 800 points before staging a recovery and closing 900 point from the day high.