nCoV: 11,093 screened in Maha; minister says no need to panic

The Maharashtra government has taken adequate precautions to strictly monitor air passengers arriving here from the coronavirus-hit China and no confirmed case of the deadly infection has been reported from the state till now, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Tuesday.

There was no need to panic in the wake of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the neighbouring country and proper precautions are being taken to deal with any situation, he said.

People returning from abroad and showing symptoms of cold, cough and body ache were admitted in isolation wards of various hospitals in the state, including in Mumbai and Pune, Tope said.

Isolation wards have been set up in select hospitals at Mumbai, Pune and Nanded where dedicated teams of medical professionals are handling suspected cases of the viral infection, Tope said.

The Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) is analysing blood and swab samples of patients.

Meanwhile, health officials in Maharashtra on Tuesday claimed that till February 3 they have screened as many as 11,093 passengers arriving at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for the novel coronavirus.

The screening of passengers at the airport started on January 18, weeks after the first case of the virus was reported from the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.

"We have so far screened 11,093 passengers at the Mumbai international airport of which 107 had arrived from the virus-affected area of China.

"Officials found that 21 passengers experienced cough, cold and mild fever, symptoms similar to the novel coronavirus infection," a health department official said.

"These passengers were admitted to hospitals for observation. Out of these 21 passengers, 19 have been discharged but are being tracked for some days as a part of standard procedure," he said.

"Of the two patients, one each is admitted in hospitals in Pune and Miraj town of Sangli district. Their swab samples have been sent to the NIV for analysis and results are awaited," the official said.

"All samples generated and examined till now have tested negative," he said.

The 107 passengers returning from the virus-affected area of China were put under mandatory 14-day daily telephonic follow-up process which was completed on February 3, the official said.

Air passengers who returned from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, and underwent thermal screening hailed from various parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Pune, Ahmednagar, Thane, Nanded, Buldhana, Nagpur, Wardha and Sangli, he said.

"All suspected passengers are being followed up on a daily basis and details of their health are being noted down," the official said.

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.

So far, the disease has killed more than 400 people in China and infected a further 20,000, nearly all of them in Hubei, a province in central part of the country.