Health Minister says 27,000 people under surveillance
The government stepped up measures to tackle the outbreak of coronavirus in India, as more patients were quarantined across the country on fears of having contracted the virus. The number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 28 on Tuesday, including 16 Italians. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said 27,000 people have been placed under community surveillance.
The number of cases has risen from six — a resident of New Delhi, Hyderabad and Jaipur tested positive on Monday, while three were cured and discharged in Kerala in January.
Among the 28 patients who tested positive for coronavirus Tuesday were six in Agra who were in contact with a New Delhi resident. The government said it would adopt a “cluster approach”, and visit houses within 3 kilometres of his resident to trace possible cases of infection.
Over 3,000 people have died of coronavirus worldwide, while some 90,000 people have been infected.
Coronavirus in India: Govt measures
The government has made it mandatory for international passengers to submit a self-declaration form on arrival, which collects personal data including travel history and possible contact with over people there.
Regular visas and e-visas issued to nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan on or before March 3 — who have not entered India yet — have been suspended.
Thermal screening has been set up at airports across the country; it is compulsory for passengers arriving via flights from Italy, Iran, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
In other news from the US, Amazon has confirmed a positive case of coronavirus among its workforce. In an email, it notified employees who had been in contact with the patient at its Seattle office. The patient, according to Bloomberg, stopped going to office on February 25.
Coronavirus outbreak: A look at what’s happening across the world
China, where the coronavirus broke out, confirmed 38 new deaths on Wednesday, taking the toll to 2,981 with a total of 80,270 infected. Outside Hubei, the epicentre, there were only four deaths. In South Korea, the death toll has risen to 32, with 5,328 people infected. In Italy, the toll jumped to 79, with over 2,500 confirmed cases. In Iran, at least 77 people have died while 2,336 are infected.
In Japan, 12 people have died and over 1,000 are infected. There are 39 cases in the UK. France has said there are 21 new cases of the coronavirus in the country, taking the total number of infections to 212. Four people had earlier died.
With social media rife with suggestions — from using alcohol spray to bleach to combat coronavirus — the World Health Organization (WHO) has released a note debunking 12 myths about the virus.
With Inputs from Agencies
