Sixteen Italians in India have tested positive for coronavirus, India's health minister said on Wednesday, as the total number of cases in the country rose sharply to 28.

On Monday, the world's second-most populous country had only six reported cases of coronavirus, but it is one of places U.S. intelligence agencies are most closely monitoring due to concerns over how it would cope with a widespread outbreak.

An Italian visiting the western desert state of Rajasthan was among those who had tested positive earlier.

And 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.

Reuters