28,529 people being monitored, 29 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India, Health Minister tells Parliament

With COVID-19 cases beginning to show an upward trend in the country, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan updated the Parliament on Thursday over the measures taken by the government to contain the disease.

The Health Minister said that they were fully geared up to battle the virus.

The Minister told the Parliament, "As on March 4, at least 28,529 persons were brought under community surveillance and are being monitored," adding "The Prime Minister is personally monitoring the situation."

Talking about the Indians stranded in Iran, he said, "The government is following up with the Iranian authorities for the well-being of Indians stranded there and to tie-up evacuation as per the need. "

The Minister said that screening of passengers was also initiated at 12 major sea ports and 65 minor ports in the country. He said that for containing the disease required all government departments to work in sync and not just the health ministry.

According to the Health Ministry over five lakh people have been screened at the airports. The ministry said that community surveillance is on and cluster approach has been taken to contain the disease.

The new coronavirus that broke out in the Wuhan city of China last year and spread to more than 60 countries is now making its presence felt in India too. At least 29 positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported till Thursday and the numbers are beginning to increase.

While three cases in Kerala have been cured, one confirmed case each have been reported from Delhi and Telangana respectively. At least 16 Italian nationals, who were visiting Jaipur, have also tested positive apart from their driver, who is an Indian citizen.

Six people affected by the virus have been reported from Agra in Uttar Pradesh. Another positive case has been reported from Gurugram in Haryana. The patient is an employee of the PayTM.

Quarantine facilities have been set up for the patients by the ITBP and the Indian Army at Chhawla and Manesar. In Delhi, the Safdarjung and Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospitals have been designated as nodal offices to deal with novel coronavirus cases.

At least 19 more laboratories are operating to conduct tests for COVID-19. Earlier, there were 15 laboratories involved in the process.