As the deadly coronavirus reached the national capital a day before, two private schools in Noida were shut on Tuesday after father of one of their students tested positive for coronavirus, while several people, including his family members, were quarantined or kept in isolation as authorities stepped up prevention efforts including extending suspension of existing regular and e-visas to nationals of four other affected countries.
Officials said that the sample of an Italian tourist in Jaipur which was sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune was found to be positive after the first two tests gave contradictory results.
With this, six cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country so far. Three of the patients have recovered.
The 69-year-old Italian’s wife also tested positive for the virus on Tuesday but her samples are being sent to Pune for another test. The couple has been kept in isolation at the Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital.
Twenty-one Italian tourists and three Indian tour operators, who were in the same group as the couple, have been sent to an ITBP quarantine facility in Delhi on Tuesday for suspected coronavirus exposure, official sources said. As concerns over the spread of the virus mounted after two more persons tested positive on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an extensive review on the preparedness. He urged the people not to panic and instead take basic protective measures.
Sources said the patient from Mayur Vihar in Delhi, who had travelled to Italy recently and tested positive on Monday, was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night. One of the schools in Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi, where the Delhi man’s son is a primary class student, said it will remain shut from March 4 to March 6, while the other said it will be closed till Saturday. The board exams are not affected, the messages sent by the schools to the parents made clear.
It came to light that the man had thrown a birthday party last week for the child, triggering fears that those who attended it including some students and his relatives might be at risk.
Samples from six people from Noida, including three children, have been taken to check if anyone has been infected, Noida’s Chief Medical Officer Anurag Bhargava said.
Fumigation was underway in both the schools and a Health Department team led by Noida’s chief medical officer visited the site, an official said.
While some family members of the man, an accountant and others who came in contact with him were asked to remain quarantined at their homes in Delhi and Agra, six others from Agra with “high-viral load” have been kept in isolation at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and their samples Contact tracing of the people who came in contact with the six is simultaneously being done through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) network, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
In a statement, the Uttar Pradesh government said that two Agra residents, who had come in contact with the Delhi man, were found to be having symptoms of coronavirus.
“As many as 23 contacts were identified, and report of 13 persons were obtained. Of these 6 persons are suspected to be infected by Corona, and the samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune. All the six suspected patients have been admitted to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. The result of 10 samples sent to NCDC, Delhi is awaited,” it said.
