One more person in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad tested positive for coronavirus or COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the total number of infected persons in India to 30. According to the Union Health Ministry, around 25,000 people are estimated to have had possible contact with the coronavirus patients. India was doing well to keep the virus outbreak in check until March 2 with just five cases.
However, the number rose sharply yesterday with a group of 14 tourists from Italy being tested positive for the virus. They all have been shifted to the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon from the ITBP quarantine facility.
In Jammu and Kashmir, two people with a history of travel from Japan and South Korea fled from a quarantine facility in Jammu, leaving the authorities in a state of turmoil. However, they were brought back to a government hospital's isolation ward, reported news agency PTI.
In national capital Delhi, the rising cases have prompted the government to announce the closure of primary schools till March 30 and a similar measure is likely for the secondary schools once their exams are over. Five people who came in contact with the Paytm employee have been quarantined and their samples have been sent for lab testing. They are among the 133 people who recently travelled to China.
Meanwhile, in a sigh of relief, two persons from Telangana, who were suspected to have contracted the virus, have tested negative. WHO regional emergency director Dr Rodrico Ofrin has said that there was no need to panic as COVID-19 cases in India are because of travelling to virus-hit countries.
India-European Union summit postponed
In view of the global coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has postponed his Brussels visit, which was scheduled to take place next week. Modi was supposed to go the Brussels, Belgium to attend the India-European Union Summit. The Ministery of External Affairs (MEA) said that the decision to cancel the summit was taken jointly by both parties in view of the outbreak.
Status of Indians stranded in Iran
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that they are in touch with Iranian authorities on possible evacuation of Indian pilgrims and students stranded there. Hundreds of Indians, including students, are stranded in Iran where coronavirus is spreading rapidly. Nearly 1,000 people, including the country's vice-president, have been infected and more than 100 are dead.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that a medical team will be sent to Iran and they will try to set up a lab there. Authorities, he said, are working on the logistics to bring back the Indians stranded there.
Coronavirus death count surges 3,100; 95,000 cases
According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 95,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,164 deaths have been reported globally in 67 countries. The death toll in China climbed to 2,943 with 31 more deaths reported today. In Italy, which is at the centre of the outbreak in Europe, all schools have been closed for at least 10 days. Iran is also closing schools and universities until early April because of the rising coronavirus cases.
