Uttarakhand reports first coronavirus case

Uttarakhand on Sunday reported its first confirmed case of coronavirus with a probationer at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) testing positive for the virus.

The probationer had returned from Spain on March 11, Director (Health) SK Gupta told PTI.

A designated laboratory in Haldwani confirmed he is suffering from coronavirus, he said.

He has been admitted at the isolation ward of Doon Medical College and Hospital, the official said.

Originally from Agra in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, the probationer's swab samples had been sent along with that of another person to Haldwani for testing as they had both returned from Spain recently, he said.

The second person has tested negative, he said quoting, reports from Haldwani that arrived on Sunday.

Swab samples of the two had been sent after they showed coronavirus symptoms, he said.

Reports of four others with a travel history to Russia and Finland are awaited from Haldwani, he said.

They were part of a 28-member batch of trainees/probationers who had returned from a trip to different foreign countries recently, the official said.

Parts of the FRI's new hostel where the trainees stay has been divided into quarantine and isolation zones, he said.

Uttarakhand has declared coronavirus as an epidemic.