With three new suspected cases of Coronavirus reported in New Delhi, two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Mohali, the government and the health officials in India are on alert. So far, 20 samples of Coronavirus strain from across India have been sent to NIV Pune. They all have been tested negative.
New cases in India
The new cases in Delhi were reported in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where three men who recently travelled to China, came to the hospital on their own with symptoms similar to the respiratory illness. Samples of the patients have been sent to the National Centre for Disease Control.
Dr Minakshi Bhardwaj, Medical Superintendent of RML Hospital, said, "Three suspected cases of coronavirus have been reported at the hospital and the patients have been kept in isolation for further treatment."
Punjab and Haryana region also reported its first suspected case where a 28-year-old man has been admitted to the isolation ward of PGIMER after showing novel coronavirus-like symptoms, an official said on Tuesday. The patient, who hails from Uttar Pradesh but lives in Punjab's Mohali, had returned from China last week.
In MP, a mother-son duo were hospitalised for possible exposure to novel coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district.
People under observation
As many as 436 people who have returned from China, mainly the Wuhan province, are under observation in Kerala for suspected exposure to the novel coronavirus. Of them, five are in isolation wards and others have been quarantined at home. So far, no one has tested positive.
In India, patients have been isolated in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kerala, Kolkata and Punjab.
Preparation for prevention
The Centre has stepped up vigil in areas bordering Nepal in view of a confirmed case of novel coronavirus detected there. The Union Health Ministry yesterday said teams of healthcare professionals have been deployed in West Bengal's Panitanki and Uttarakhand's Jhulaghat and Jauljibi in Pithoragarh district, bordering Nepal. Precautionary measures like setting up of isolation ward and providing protective gear to those affected have been instructed.
At seven airports around the country, passengers are being screened, and at 12 other airports risk communication and self-declaration desk have been installed.
As on Monday evening, 33,552 passengers travelling from China had been screened for coronavirus related symptoms. No case has been tested positive.
Ministry of Health has also set up 24*7 helpline for queries on novel coronavirus and hygienic measures to be taken to prevent the disease.
Update on #coronavirus:
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) January 27, 2020
Total 33,552 passengers traveling from #China in 155 flights screened so far.
4359 passengers in 18 flights from China screened today for #ncov2020.
No case has been found in the country so far. @PMOIndia @drharshvardhan @AshwiniKChoubey @MoCA_GoI
Indian Students in China
According to an Indian Express report, about 45 Indian medical students at Jianghan University School of Medicine in Wuhan are waiting for help from the embassy in China. They are stranded in their hostel as the entire Wuhan city is under lockdown.
The Indian Embassy in Beijing on Monday issued an alert, seeking information about Indians facing shortage of food, water and other essentials. "...provide us with the exact location so that the Embassy in Beijing could work with the Chinese authorities to ensure that such essential supplies are sustained," said a statement from the embassy.
Air India has kept one of its 423-seater jumbo plane ready in Mumbai for the evacuation of Indian citizens from Wuhan province in China in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in the East Asian country, news agency PTI quoted an official source as saying.
More than 45 Coronavirus cases confirmed elsewhere in the world
Germany confirmed the country's first case of the new virus but said the patient is "in medically good condition."
Other countries like the United States, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, France, Canada and Australia have also reported cases of Coronavirus in their respective countries. Though, no fatalities have been reported outside China.
1st Coronavirus death in Beijing
The new strain of coronavirus claimed its first victim in Beijing, as As Chinese authorities reported a surge in cases.
China urged its citizens to postpone trips abroad as the country expands a massive effort to contain a viral outbreak. Tuesday's toll of 106 dead was up from 81 the day before. The number of total confirmed cases in China surged to 4,515 as of Monday, from 2,835 the previous day, the National Health Commission said.
The number of confirmed cases in China jumped by 65% in a day.
Impact on China's economy
Global stocks fell again as oil prices hit three-month lows, and China's yuan currency dipped to its weakest in 2020, as investors worried about damage to the economy from travel bans over the Lunar New Year holiday period, which China extended in a bid to keep people isolated at home.
WHO
The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday he is confident in China's ability to contain a new coronavirus that has killed 106 people and he called for calm, saying he did not think foreigners should be evacuated, Chinese media reported.
Wuhan, a city of 11 million in Hubei province, where the virus apparently jumped from an animal in a market illegally selling wildlife, has been all but put under quarantine, with a lockdown on almost all transport.
