With 12 more people tested positive for coronavirus - six in Kerala and three each in Karnataka and Pune, the total number of coronavirus cases in India went up to 59. The health ministry said the total number of confirmed cases has risen to 50, adding the rest are being retested for confirmation. Once the fresh cases declared by the state governments are taken into account, the figure will go up to 59. Other cases include one each in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Punjab. Authorities on Monday sealed a village in Leh district of Ladakh region after a pilgrim who had visited Iran died in the hospital of suspected coronavirus infection.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan held a meeting with the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, and took stock of the preparedness. Earlier, the Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster brought back 58 Indians from coronavirus-hit Iran and also carried 529 samples for investigation. A total of 59 cases are currently active while three have been discharged. On Sunday, five new cases were reported from Kerala with three family members with travel history to Italy and two of their relatives who came in contact with them, health ministry officials said. The family, according to Kerala authorities, failed to report its travel to Italy.
The family is reported to have visited relatives and attended a few functions. The ministry said efforts were on to trace their contacts. The ministry continued to appeal to people to observe dos and don’ts, coughing etiquette, hand-washing and avoiding large gatherings. It also urged people to clearly reveal their travel history and fill the details in self-declaration forms accurately while travelling.
The ministry also clarified that a patient from Murshidabad, West Bengal, who died on Sunday had tested negative for Covid-19 and “hence, so far no death has been reported due to the disease in the country”.
Jammu patient has a travel history to Iran
The samples of an elderly man who died in Ladakh have been sent for testing. Officials said the patient in Jammu - the first case in J&K - is learnt to have a travel history to Iran while one from UP came in contact with the six people from Agra who had tested positive for coronavirus. A patient, a resident of Italy, was under quarantine at the Government Medical College in Amritsar.
“We are sending detailed guidelines to all states on ways to contain coronavirus. We have asked states to strengthen laboratories and manpower to effectively deal with coronavirus and form early rapid action teams,” health minister Harsh Vardhan said.
Vardhan maintained that the government was prepared to deal with the outbreak with a coordinated approach that included different government departments and agencies for activities such as contact tracing, community surveillance, hospital management, identification of isolation wards, ensuring adequate personal protection equipment and masks, and risk communication for mass awareness.
The cabinet secretary late on Monday reviewed the situation with chief secretaries of all states and emphasised upon surveillance at points of entry, in the community, laboratory support and hospital preparedness. Around 404 Indian contacts of a US citizen, who tested positive in Bhutan, have been identified and put under surveillance in Assam.
Meanwhile, another positive case was reported from Karnataka. A 40-year-old techie, who returned from the US via Dubai, reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 in Bengaluru. However, there was no confirmation from the Centre.
Six more coronavirus cases in Kerala
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that with the confirmation six more cases, the total number of infected in the state now stood at 12. The affected include three who had come from Italy and eight who came in contact with them, Vijayan told reporters after a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday. A three-year-old child, who returned along with his parents from the European nation, had tested positive in Kochi on Monday. The samples of his parents have also been sent for testing and the results are awaited, Vijayan said.
In the backdrop of more cases being reported, classes for grade one to 7 would not be held in all state, CBSE and ICSE schools. But, exams for grade eight, nine, 10 and higher secondary would be held. Students who are under observation would be permitted to write examinations in a special room. The Chief Minister said all colleges would also be shut till this month end. Marriage rituals can be held but people should avoid attending such functions. It is better pilgrims do not visit Sabarimala for darshan, Vijayan said
Among the people found positive for Covid-19 in India, 16 are Italian nationals who were touring Rajasthan. Two of them are admitted in SMS hospital in Jaipur and doctors said their condition is improving. The rest of them, who are admitted at Medanta Medicity in Gurgaon, are also doing well, sources said. In Assam, at least 400 people have been quarantined after they came in contact with an American tourist who tested positive for the new coronavirus in Bhutan after travelling through the state recently, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.
