Indian doctors check foreign tourists at a coronavirus screening camp in Lakhanpur, 92km from Jammu, on Wednesday. Image Credit: AP

Dubai: The total number of people affected by the coronavirus in India rose sharply to 28 on Wednesday after 16 Italians in the country tested positive, India’s health minister said.

An Italian visiting Rajasthan was among those who had tested positive earlier. On Wednesday, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said 15 of 21 tourists from Italy - Europe’s worst-affected country - who had been taken to a quarantine facility on the outskirts of New Delhi had tested positive for the virus.

Their Indian driver was also placed in quarantine, the minister said.

Harsh Vardhan said extra precautions were being taken against the spread of the virus after the sharp rise in cases. “We will now screen all international passengers. We will not limit our screenings to 12 countries as we did earlier,” Vardhan told a news conference.

More than 93,000 cases have been reported worldwide, and more than 3,000 people have died from the flu-like coronavirus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and has since spread to more than 80 countries.

India on Wednesday suspended all visas granted to nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan on or before February 3. In a new advisory, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also suspended the visas to foreign nationals who have travelled to China, Iran, Italy, South Korea and Japan issued to them on or after February 2.

Software engineer

A software engineer with suspected symptoms of coronavirus was admitted to a government-run hospital in Kakinada town of Andhra Pradesh, doctors said on Wednesday. Within hours of the state government claiming that the state has no suspected cases of Covid-19, a techie, who had recently returned from South Korea, was admitted in Kakinada hospital in East Godavari district.

Doctors said he was kept in the isolation ward and his samples were sent to Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad. “It may take 24 to 48 hours to get the results. His condition is stable. He is suffering from cold but there are no other symptoms,” a doctor said.

Italian tourists interact with medical staff and fill up forms after being put in preventive isolation at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) quarantine facility in Chhawla in New Delhi. Image Credit: AFP

The techie, working for a software company in Hyderabad, had reportedly returned from South Korea a week ago.

Some schools in Mahendra Hills neighbourhood in Secunderabad were shut on Wednesday as a precautionary measure as the software engineer lived in the area. At least three major private schools in the area, which falls under Secunderabad Cantonment Board, declared indefinite holidays as a precautionary measure.

Ship crew member moved to Cuttack hospital

A crew member of a cargo ship was shifted to a hospital in Cuttack on Tuesday after he developed symptoms of fever and sore throat, the Paradip Port Trust Chairman Rinkesh Roy said.

Meanwhile, in Kochi 459 passengers of the Italian luxury cruise ship ‘Costa Victoria’, which was docked in its port, were screened for respiratory symptoms and fever on Wednesday.

Taj visitors

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has said that they do not have the technology or the equipment to screen the estimated 30,000 people who visit the Taj Mahal every day, agencies reported.

The statement comes in the wake of the coronavirus scare that has gripped Agra after six patients, suspected of having contracted the virus from the city, were transferred to Delhi on Tuesday for advanced treatment. People in the area feel that the Taj Mahal should be kept closed for some time.

Vasan K. Swarankar, ASI superintending archaeologist in Agra circle, said that there is no special equipment or technology at the monument to screen tourists. He said he has advised his team to inform the health department, if anyone is visibly found having symptoms of extreme cough, cold and fever.

“We cannot do much until someone informs us,” said Swarankar, adding that the airport is already using thermal imaging technology for screening tourists coming to India as part of precautionary measures and an advisory has also been issued to hotels.

Screening lab in Iran

India will set up a testing lab for Covid-19 in Iran keeping in view the Indians stranded there, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, said on Wednesday.

The minister said that one scientist from India has already left for Iran, more scientists will be leaving later in the day.

“We have been communicating at all possible platforms with Iranian government. If the Iranian government gives consent, we will establish testing labs there. So that the Indians who are to be brought back can be screened and tested there itself before their return.”

The minister also said that there are 15 labs in India that are conducting tests. “We have directed 19 more labs to conduct the tests. Out of which 7 are already functional, the rest will start working today itself.”

Surge in demand for masks

Pharmacies near the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) have seen a surge in the demand for masks and sanitisers, ANI reported.

“We have sanitisers and masks currently in ample stock, but their demand has been rising in the past few days so a shortage may arise in the coming days. Sanitisers, especially, are being demanded more since the advisory was issued. Currently, though we have ample stock to meet the demand,” Vishwajit, a chemist told ANI.

“Moreover, in the nearby Safdarjung Hospital some coronavirus patients have arrived from Agra for treatment, therefore, it has made the people more cautious and aware,” he added.