28 coronavirus cases in India so far, foreigners to be screened at airports

Addressing the media, the minister said, he requested Delhi government to prepare for potential isolation in hospitals to combat coronavirus

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said the number of confirmed cases in India have risen to 28 and the government is readying an action plan.

"So far India has reported 28 positive coronavirus cases, this includes 16 Italians," the minister said.

All international flights and passengers will now have to undergo screening, and not just the 12 countries listed earlier.

So far, 589,000 people have been screened at airports, over 1 million screened at borders with Nepal and around 27,000 were currently under community surveillance.

Of the total number of coronavirus cases, 6 are from Agra, 1 in Delhi, 16 Italians and their Indian driver, 1 in Telangana and 3 in Kerala. The patients in Agra are relatives of a Delhi-based man who tested positive for disease.

Addressing the media, the minister said that he had requested the Delhi government to prepare for potential isolation in hospitals to combat the coronavirus.

A meeting of a group of union ministers on coronavirus will be be held today at Nirman Bhawan.

The minister said that the govt has adopted a cluster approach to prevent community spread of the virus.

Speaking on citizens stuck in Iran, Harsh Vardhan said, " If the Iranian government supports our efforts, then we have an intention to establish a test lab there as well. This will let us bring back our citizens from Iran after a thorough screening."

According to the World Health Organization, there are 92,819 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,164 deaths have been reported globally in 67 countries. The death toll in China climbed to 2,943 with 31 more deaths reported today, while 125 confirmed cases were reported, the lowest since the virus outbreak in the country, Chinese health officials said on Tuesday.