New Delhi: With the latest five reported cases from Kerala, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India have reached 39.
On Saturday, three positive cases of novel coronavirus were reported, Union Health ministry said. Of the three, two are from Ladakh with travel history to Iran while one is from Tamil Nadu who had visited Oman, the ministry said, adding all the patients are stable.
The ministry also said more that 150 people, who had come in contact with two American nationals who tested positive for coronavirus in Bhutan and had toured various placed in India, have been put under Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reviewed the coronavirus situation in the country at a meeting with officials and directed them to identify locations for sufficient quarantine facilities and make provisions for critical care in case the disease spreads further.
At the meeting with all ministries and departments concerned, he said that in view of expert opinion, people should be advised to avoid mass gatherings as much as possible and made aware of the do's and don'ts.
According to an official statement from the prime minister, the officials were instructed to plan for early testing and evacuation of Indians from Iran where, according to reports, 145 people have died so far due to COVID-19.
On Saturday, a flight from Tehran brought to Delhi swab samples of Indians in Iran who are suspected of having the coronavirus infection. The flight, operated by Mahan Air, then returned with many Iranian nationals.
Meanwhile, the Union health ministry has made functional 52 laboratories for testing samples while 57 labs have been designated for helping in sample collection for COVID-19to enhance capacity for diagnosis and detection of the disease.
"Following the increase in load of screening samples from suspected cases with symptoms and travel history to the affected countries, the Department of Health Research/ICMR has commissioned 52 laboratories for COVID-19 testing in India," an official said.
As on March 6, a total of 4,058 samples from 3,404 individuals have been tested by the network. This includes testing of 1,308 samples from 654 individuals evacuated from Wuhan, China and quarantined at ITBP and Manesar Camp and tested twice on days 0 and 14.
Subsequently, another 236 individuals evacuated from Wuhan and Diamond Princess Ship, Japan on February 27 were tested on day 0. Repeat testing will be done on day 14.
Among these positive cases include a 45-year-old man from Delhi's Mayur Vihar and six of his relatives from Agra whom he had recently visited. Another is a Paytm employee who works in Gurgaon and lives in west Delhi. They are being treated at the Safdarjung hospital.
A middle-aged man from Ghaziabad, who tested positive for the virus, is being treated at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in the national capital. A 24-year-old man from Hyderabad, who has also tested positive for coronavirus, has been isolated.
The total figure of positive cases includes the first three reported from Kerala last month. All the three persons have been discharged following recovery.
On Friday, a man from Delhi with a travel history to Thailand and Malaysia tested positive. Eleven people, including seven of his family members, have been quarantined at their residence in west Delhi.
By Saturday, coronavirus has now killed nearly 3,500 people and infected more than 100,000 across 92 nations and territories.
(With PTI inputs)
