An Italian tourist in Rajasthan's Jaipur has tested positive for the Coronavirus or COVID-19, according to sources in the Union Health Ministry. The tourist, who was suffering from respiratory problems, had Saturday tested negative but his situation worsened and another sample was collected and sent to the lab for tests. On Monday, the second sample came positive, following which he was quarantined. However, another sample of him has been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for further tests. "Since there was a variation in the reports, samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing," a government official said.
With this, the total number of Coronavirus positive cases in India has risen to six. On Monday, the health ministry said that two people, one from Delhi and the other from Hyderabad, tested positive for Coronavirus, which has killed over 3,000 people across the world.
Following the development, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the strategy against Coronavirus. The virus has so far infected six people in India and over 83,000 across the world.
No need to panic, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday held a high-profile meeting to review the preparations to combat the COVID-19 outbreak in the country and asked people to ensure self-protection measures. "Had an extensive review regarding preparedness on the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. Different ministries & states are working together, from screening people arriving in India to providing prompt medical attention," he said.
The prime minister also urged people not to panic and work together. "There is no need to panic. We need to work together, take small yet important measures to ensure self-protection," PM Modi tweeted along with a set of preventive measures.
Stop playing clown on social media and fight Coronavirus: Rahul Gandhi to Modi
A day after the government reported two new cases, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Narendra Modi government of not taking the threat seriously. "The Corona Virus is an extremely serious threat to our people and our economy. My sense is the government is not taking this threat seriously. Timely action is critical (sic)." he wrote on Twitter.
The Gandhi scion ridiculed the prime minister for his social media prank and said that instead of wasting time "playing clown", he must act to combat the outbreak of Coronavirus. "Don't waste time playing clown with social media accounts, deal with coronavirus," he said in a series of Tweets.