A 23-year-old man, suspected to be a patient of novel coronavirus infection, committed suicide by jumping from the seventh floor of Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where he was admitted on Thursday.

"The deceased was admitted at hospital today at 9 pm after returning from Sydney, Australia," the Delhi Police said in a statement.

The patient, who was living in Sydney for the last one year, arrived in Delhi on Thursday via an Air India flight, and on reaching airport mentioned headache as a complaint in his self-reporting form, a health ministry spokesperson said.

He jumped out of the seventh floor of the hospital, where he was taken for admission and evaluation.

"When doctors reached the room, he wasn't found in room. At same time, another doctor coming out of building at ground floor observed a body lying on floor at around 9.15 pm. She immediately reported, however he was found dead," the spokesperson said.

With the novel Coronavirus infection, officially called Covid-19, spreading in the country, the government has started medical screening of all passengers at international airports.

Health officials are quarantining some suspected cases based on their risk assessment, while most are being asked to stay at home for 14 days.

Nearly 14 lakh people have been screened at airports since the outbreak started in Wuhan, China in December.

So far, 151 cases of novel coronavirus infection have been confirmed in India, out of which 134 are currently undergoing treatment. Among the remaining, 14 have recovered while three patients over 60 years of age have died.

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