26 persons having coronavirus-like symptoms tested negative in Punjab

Twenty-six persons with coronavirus-like symptoms in Punjab have tested negative, a state health minister on Friday.

"Till date, 26 symptomatic cases belonging to Punjab have been reported negative by the National Institute of Virology, Pune," Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said in a statement here.

He said the list of passengers having travel history to China was being shared by the Centre with the state.

Out of 1,375 passengers, 1,250 have been traced by the teams of the health department and they all were found asymptomatic, Sidhu said.

The rest would also be screened by Saturday, he said, adding no positive case has so far been confirmed in the state.

It has been made mandatory that any person having symptoms of fever, cough, running nose, difficulty in breathing within 14 days of arrival from China has to be admitted to an isolation ward, Sidhu said.

The minister also instructed civil surgeons that they should personally monitor the screening campaign.