Coronavirus | Italian Tourist In Jaipur Tests Positive, Total Confirmed Cases In India Rises To 6: Report

An Italian tourist in Jaipur has tested positive for novel coranavirus, taking the  total number of confirmed cases in India to six so far, Union Health Ministry sources said Tuesday. The first sample collected from the tourist on Saturday had tested negative, but his condition deteriorated and a second sample was collected, which tested positive on Monday.

“Since there was a variation in the reports, samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing,” officials said, adding that it had tested positive. India on Monday reported two new cases of the deadly coronavirus, one from Delhi and another one from Hyderabad. The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed over 3,100 people worldwide.  

The 69-year-old man was part of a group of 20 tourists, who were in Agra on Sunday, before visiting Jaipur.  Hotels and the authorities at tourist sites in Agra have been told to inform the office of the chief medical officer as soon as visitors from Italy, Iran or China arrive, so that they can be screened for coronavirus infection.  

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Meanwhile in Lucknow, samples of an Uttar Pradesh residents who had returned from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning have been sent for testing. He will be quarantined for 14 days in the hospital. As soon as any information is received, a team of doctors will be dispatched to examine the visitors for symptoms of COVID-19, Agra Chief Medical Officer Dr Mukesh Vats told PTI.

"We have issued instructions to all hotels in the city that if any person is coming from Italy, Iran or China, they should inform us," he said, adding that a team of doctors will be dispatched to examine the visitor.

He said the authorities at all tourist sites in Agra have been told to "inform the 24-hour control room about visitors from the countries where the coronavirus outbreak has been reported".  

Asked whether any visitor in Agra has shown symptoms of coronavirus, Vats said, "The group of 19 tourists who had come from Jaipur was staying in Crystal Sarovar, and had arrived the day before yesterday (Sunday) at 2 pm. Next morning (Monday) around 8 am, they left for Delhi."

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"After this, another batch of 18-19 tourists was staying at the Taj Convention Hotel. They have been tested and have not been found symptomatic. The history of the tourists was scanned and symptoms searched. All of them are normal. The second batch was tested on Monday in the afternoon," Vats said.

(With PTI inputs)