nCoV: Three under observation in Maharashtra; 25,782 screened

Three patients are under observation in hosptials in Maharashtra for the novel coronavirus and nearly 25,800 passengers have been screened at the airport here since January 18 for possible exposure to the infection, state health officials said on Tuesday.

Of these patients, who showed symptoms similar to the coronavirus (2019-nCoV), two are in Pune-based Naidu Hospital, while one is in Mumbai's civic-run Kasturba Hospital, they said.

No confirmed case of the viral infection, which originated in China, has been found in the state so far.

"Since January 18, we have screened 25,782 passengers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai of which 167 came from coronavirus-affected regions.

"Thirty-nine of these passengers were isolated and their swab samples tested at Pune-based National Institute of Virology. Thirty-seven of these passengers tested negative for the virus," said an official from the health department.

"Passengers coming from coronavirus-infected areas are being tracked for 14 days from the date of arrival here as a precautionary measure. So far, 84 travellers have completed their mandatory 14-day follow-ups," he said.

It is being assumed that the incubation period of the deadly virus is 14 days so individuals suspected to be exposed to the pathogen are subjected to two-week quarantine.

"Apart from Mumbai, Pune and Thane, travellers are also being monitored in Nanded, Buldhana, Nagpur, Wardha, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Amaravati, Palghar, Jalgaon, Chandrapur and Satara districts," he said.

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1,000 people in China since the outbreak in December.

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 signs such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the WHO.