Fifteen of the 24 Italian nationals taken to the quarantine facility of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Chhawla near Delhi, have tested positive for coronavirus, officials familiar with the matter said. The 24 (21 Italian nationals and three Indians) tourists were in the same group as the Italian national who had tested positive of the virus earlier, the officials further said.
The three Indians in the group are the guide, bus driver and helper of the tourists.
The Italian tourist was the sixth confirmed case of coronavirus in India.
The 69-year-old Italian’s wife also tested positive for the virus on Tuesday but her samples are being sent to Pune for another test. The couple has been kept in isolation at the Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital.
As concerns over the spread of the virus mounted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an extensive review on the preparedness on Tuesday. He urged the people not to panic and instead take basic protective measures.
A man from Mayur Vihar in Delhi, who had travelled to Italy recently, had tested positive on Monday. He was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.
One of the schools in Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi, where the Delhi man’s son is a primary class student, said it will remain shut from March 4 to March 6, while the other said it will be closed till Saturday. Another school also shut down as a preventive measure against coronavirus.
However, samples of six people from Noida, who came in contact with the Delhi resident, have tested negative for the virus.
India has stepped up the screening process. The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday issued a travel advisory suspending all regular visas/e-visas granted on or before March 3 to nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea, Japan who have not yet entered India.
The advisory also suspends visa on arrival (VoA) issued by March 3 to Japan and South Korea nationals who have not yet entered India.
