COVID-19 : 3 fresh cases reported from Ladakh, Tamil Nadu ,Total goes up to 34
NEW DELHI : The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has now gone up to 34 in India. Till Friday, the number was 31 which went up today after three more people tested positive on today — two are from Ladakh with travel history to Iran and one is from Tamil Nadu who had visited Oman.
Two more people who returned from Italy are suspected to have the COVID-19 infection in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur, news agency ANI reported quoting doctors at the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar. “Their final report is yet to come from the National Institute of Virology, Pune,” a doctor said. Across the world there have been more than 1 lakh cases recorded in 94 countries and territories with 3,515 deaths, according to news agency AFP.
Sanjeeva Kumar, Special Secretary (Health), Union Health Ministry said 3 more cases have been found positive, total number of coronavirus cases in India reaches 34. 2 cases are from Ladakh with travel history from Iran & 1 from Tamil Nadu with travel history from Oman. All are stable.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the coronavirus situation in the country at a meeting with officials on Saturday and directed them to identify locations for sufficient quarantine facilities and make provisions for critical care in case the disease spreads further
Earlier in the day, PM Modi reviewed the situation on coronavirus and action taken so far by various ministries.
He also directed that an immediate exercise be taken up to identify sufficient locations for quarantine and also for critical care provisioning in case the disease spread. He also instructed officials to plan for early testing and evacuation of Indians from Iran.
All primary schools in several districts in Jammu and Kashmir including Srinagar have been closed after two people were suspected to be infected by the highly contagious novel coronavirus, the government said. Principal Secretary of Planning in the newest Union Territory Rohit Kansal said both the patients had left hospital against medical advice and had to be brought back.
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.
As many as 52 laboratories are now operational across the country for testing COVID-19 virus, the health ministry said. An additional 57 laboratories have been provided with Viral Transport Media and swabs for sample collection, it added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was screened for coronavirus infection at Delhi airport on his return from Italy on February 29, the party said on Friday. The confirmation came after three caustic digs this week, including two by the BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri, targeting Mr Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, and suggesting they should be wary of spreading the disease.
Of the 34 people infected with the coronavirus in India, 16 are Italian tourists. Three of the first cases reported from Kerala in January were discharged last month. An Indian national is among 15 new cases of coronavirus in the UAE, the country’s health officials have said.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh government has approved release of Rs 408 crore for equipping the health system with the capacity to effectively manage any contingency in the wake of the prevalence of novel coronavirus, reports PTI. P V Ramesh, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has been closely monitoring the measures taken to prevent, contain and manage coronavirus in the state.
(With Agency Inputs ).
