Back from coronavirus-hit China, man kept under watch in Miraj

An air passenger arriving from China has been isolated and kept under observation for the new coronavirus in civil hospital of Miraj town in Sangli district of Maharashtra, taking the number of such people to six in the state, said a health department official on Monday.

Swab sample of the passenger, who had travelled to the coronavirus-affected China, has been sent to Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) for analysis, he said.

With this, six patients have been kept in observation wards in the state (in various hospitals) - of which four are in Pune, while one each in Mumbai and Sangli district, the official said.

Since January 18, state health officials have screened 8,878 passengers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for the coronavirus infection, he said.

No confirmed case of the deadly virus, which has killed 361 people in China till now, has been detected yet in Maharashtra.

The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes, but the virus that has killed people in China is a novel strain and not seen before.

Common symptoms of the novel coronavirus strain include respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the WHO.

The WHO has declared the coronavirus epidemic as a global health emergency.

The virus - which first emerged in Wuhan city in China's central Hubei province - has spread to 25 countries, including India (three confirmed cases have been reported from Kerala), the US and the UK.