289 of 304 samples found negative, 5 positive for COVID-19, Maha Health Min

Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday said that 289 of the total 304 samples collected have been found negative for coronavirus while "five were found positive". He said that results for 10 samples are pending.

"All 289 people who tested negative for coronavirus have been discharged and sent home. As far as the other 15 whose results are pending or found positive, 12 are admitted in Pune hospitals and the rest in Mumbai," Tope told reporters here.

He said that so far, as many as 1,29,448 passengers from 1,101 international flights have been screened at airports in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.

"The Bureau of Immigration is providing information about people returning from Italy, Iran and South Korea. These three countries are worst affected so all the passengers returning from these three countries are being put under observation since February 21," Tope said.

"All district hospitals and government medical colleges have isolation wards. So far, the government has kept 502 fully equipped beds ready across the state for any kind of situation related to coronavirus," he added.

Tope said that a total of 591 people who came from affected countries have been kept under observation, of which 353 have completed their 14 days mandatory observation period.

He also said that people with coronavirus-like symptoms are also being kept in isolated wards.