People with symptoms of coronavirus test negative, 18 other suspects also fine

Jaipur, Jan. 29 (PTI): A man, who was found with symptoms of coronavirus here, tested negative and 18 other suspects in Rajasthan were also in good health, Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said on Wednesday.

Blood sample of the man, who was admitted to the Isolation Ward of the SMS Hospital, was sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for examination, he said, adding that the second sample would be taken according to the prescribed norms.

Along with this, instructions have been given to regularly screen and test all the suspects and their relatives for the next 28 days who have come from China, Singh said.

The additional chief secretary said adequate arrangements have been made for prevention, control and treatment of coronavirus in the state. Five doctors and as many nursing staffers have been deployed for screening at Sanganer International Airport.

Coronavirus symptoms were not detected in a total of 554 passengers of four flights who were screened on January 28, Singh said.

Personal protective equipment kits and N95 masks are available in adequate quantity for health workers, he added.

Woman, son test negative for coronavirus

A 50-year-old woman and her 20-year-old son who were admitted in a hospital here for possible exposure to novel Coronavirus tested negative for the deadly pathogen, a district health official said on Wednesday.

The duo were admitted in the isolation ward of the hospital on January 27, after the 20-year-old returned from Wuhan in China, where he was studying medicine.

“The examination report of the two suspected patients of Coronavirus has come out negative,” Ujjain’s chief medical and health officer Dr Mahavir Khandelwal said.

The woman and her son are suffering from normal cold and cough and they would be discharged from the hospital soon, he added.

Nine under watch in Maharashtra

A 49-year-old resident of Mumbai has become the ninth person in Maharashtra to be kept under observation for possible exposure to novel Coronavirus, a health official said here on Wednesday.

The man had returned on January 21 from Wuhan, believed to be the epicentre of the deadly virus, he said.

“He was admitted in civic-run Kasturba Hospital on Tuesday, after he developed fever and cough on January 24,” Maharashtra State Disease Surveillance Officer Dr Pradeep Awte told PTI.

He clarified that the man under observation didn’t show any nCoV symptoms when he had returned to Mumbai.

“A total of nine patients, six of them in Mumbai, are currently under observation in the state for suspected coronavirus infection,” he said.

Of the rest, two patients are admitted in a hospital in Pune and one in Nanded.

Dr Awte said 3997 people have been screened so far at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai for possible exposure to the virus, but no positive case has been found so far in Maharashtra.

IndiGo suspends flights

IndiGo airlines said on Wednesday that due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, it has decided to suspend its flights on the Bengaluru-Hong Kong route from February 1 and on the Delhi-Chengdu route from February 1 to 20.

The low-cost carrier said for now, it will continue to operate the Kolkata-Guangzhou flight which it is “monitoring on a daily basis”.

“And for our operating crew, we are ensuring that they return to India on the inbound flights without any layover in China,” the airline said in a statement.

Moreover, according to a source, India’s largest airline has also told its crew members who are working on flights connecting India with East Asian countries like Thailand and Singapore to wear N95 masks at all times when they are on ground.

“However, these crew members have been asked not to wear the mask when they are flying. They have also been told to avoid public places, meat from unverified sources and uncooked meat in East Asian cities. They have also been told to wash their hands frequently,” the source added.

According to an Air India official, all crew members working on flights between India and South East Asia have been asked to wear N95 masks.