Noida / Bengaluru: Six people, including three children, whose samples were taken in Noida for suspected coronavirus have tested negative, officials said today.
The six have, however, been kept self-quarantined at their home for the next 14 days and if symptoms for COVID-19 develop, they would be retested, the officials said.
Among those whose samples were taken on Tuesday were a couple and their 12-year-old son, and a woman and her two children, aged 12 and five, according to Noida health department sources.
These six had come in contact with a Delhi-based man who has tested positive for the coronavirus during a party thrown by him. ”On the Coronavirus issue, samples taken from six contacts in Noida have tested negative but they will need to be under home quarantine for next 14 days and if symptoms develop, can be retested again,” District Magistrate B N Singh said in a statement.
He added that the government and the administration were monitoring the situation, stressing there was no need to panic. ”Administration has not given any school closure order,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, seeking to allay fear among the citizens in the wake of Coronavirus scare, Karnataka Health Minister B Srirumulu today made an appeal to the people not to pay heed to rumours spreading on social media. In a series of tweets, Sriramulu assured people that the government has taken adequate measures to ensure that the disease does not spread further.
”Don’t lend your ears to rumours about the Coronavirus in the social media. Rely only on the authentic information,” he tweeted.
The Minister’s tweet came as Bengaluru reported the first case, after a techie from the city with a travel history to Dubai and interaction with Hongkong-based people there, was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.
As panic gripped the city, Sriramulu said the apartment where the software engineer was staying has been sanitised. Besides, his 25 colleagues have been identified.
”So far 40,207 people have been screened at the International airport. 251 blood tests have been done, of which 238 were found negative, while the rest of the reports are yet to come,” Sriramulu tweeted.
CHINA SITUATION
The corona virus infections showed signs of receding in China with 38 new fatalities, taking the total number of casualties to 2,981, Chinese health officials have said even as countries grappled to contain the fast-spreading deadly virus that has claimed over 3,100 lives globally.
By the end of Tuesday, 2,981 people died of the COVID-19 and a total of 80,270 confirmed cases of the virus were reported in China, National Health Commission (NHC) reported on Tuesday.
The death toll due to the deadly disease across the world mounted to 3,123 and confirmed cases surpassed 91,783, official media here reported.
By the end of Tuesday, 100 confirmed cases including two deaths have been reported in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR and 42 in Taiwan, including one death.
As the corona virus outbreak has become a global menace causing massive disruptions in China and abroad, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for international cooperation in scientific research to develop a cure and vaccine to contain COVID-19.
Across the globe, countries witnessed a surge in new infection. South Korea reported 5,328 infections with 142 new cases today. Thirty two people have died of the disease in the country. In India, six people are confirmed to be infected by coronavirus, including an Italian couple in Rajasthan.
The corona virus deaths jumped to 79 in Italy on Tuesday with over 2,502 confirmed cases reported in the country. Atleast 77 people have died due to the corona virus outbreak in Iran with 2,336 confirmed cases. Japan has confirmed over 1,000 COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths.
The deadly virus has claimed seven people in the United States as the infections rose to over 100 in the country. Positive cases rose to 39 in the UK.
France on Tuesday announced that 21 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified, taking the total number of infections to 212, of which 12 were cured and four have died.