Coronavirus: Random testing of people with respiratory ailments to check for community transmission

The Union Health Ministry has started random testing of people, who are suffering from respiratory ailments such as influenza and pneumonia but do not have a history of travel abroad, to ascertain if there has been community transmission of coronavirus infection.

Health Ministry officials have asked people not to panic, saying no community transmission of the virus has been observed and there has only been cases of localised transmission so far.

According to a senior ICMR official, around 1,040 samples of patients admitted at various hospitals, including private facilities, due to influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory ailments have been collected and majority of them have been tested to check if the virus has infected those without a history of travelling abroad.

So far, none of the samples has tested positive for COVID-19. The final results will declared on Wednesday.

According to the current testing protocols, only those with history of travel to high-risk countries affected by the respiratory virus and those who came in contact with those having tested positive have been asked to be quarantined for 14 days and those who show symptoms of the infection are being tested.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) official said there are four states of the disease -- Stage 1 is getting imported cases while stage 2 is local transmission in which are currently witnessing.

Community transmission will be stage 3, while the stage 4 will be when it turns into an epidemic.

The government has made 52 laboratories functional for testing samples while 57 labs have been designated for helping in sample collection to enhance diagnosis and detection capacity of the disease.

Officials said that India's efforts to deal with coronavirus are in consonance with the World Health Organization guidelines and the focus is on preventive approach.

The number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 114 with one new case each in Ladakh, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala, the officials said on Monday.

The number includes 13 people who have been discharged after they recovered and two fatalities, they said.