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Updated March 6th, 2020 at 06:53 IST

COVID-19: 88 persons who came in contact with infected techie tested negative in Telangana

The 88 persons who had come in contact with the techie infected with the novel Coronavirus have been tested negative, stated Telangana Health Minister

Reported by: Manjiri Chitre
Coronavirus
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The 88 people who had come in contact with the techie infected with the novel Coronavirus have been tested negative, stated Telangana Health Minister Eatela Rajendra.

Addressing the media, the health minister said, "In Telangana, only one person tested COVID-19 positive and from then we have kept 88 people under surveillance who came in contact with that person. All 88 persons have tested COVID-19 negative. We are taking all kinds of preventive measures."

Asking the people in Telangana to not panic, he further added, "Yesterday, we sent two samples to Pune lab after we had some doubts and today we have received those two reports stating that both the samples have tested COVID-19 negative from the NIV, Pune. The public here doesn't need to panic."

Coronavirus cases rise in India 

On Wednesday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan revealed that around 30 people had been confirmed Coronavirus-positive in the country, including in New Delhi. He said that out these 16 were Italian Nationals. They have been sent to Indo-Tibetan Border Police's (ITBP) quarantine facility in Chhawla. Following this, two more cases have come to light, including an employee of Paytm

The 30 also include six family members of the Delhi man who was infected with coronavirus who were also tested positive for the virus that has killed more than 3,000 people globally so far.

Read: Delhi's Mughal Gardens to be closed from March 7 to avoid spread of Coronavirus: President

UN releases fund

United Nations has released $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the novel coronavirus COVID-19. UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock announced the release of the fund after the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the alert to ‘very high’ - its top level of risk assessment

The UN funding has been released for the WHO and the UNICEF to help essential activities including monitoring the spread of the virus, investigating cases, and the operation of national laboratories. The WHO has called for $675 million in funding to combat the deadly virus. WHO Director-General said that the biggest concern is the countries with weaker health systems.

Read: YSRCP dubs Naidu 'Coronavirus of backward class',says 'reason' for HC's reservation order

Coronavirus outbreak

According to the latest reports, 42 new deaths in China due to coronavirus infections have been confirmed, taking the total death toll to over 3,000. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan (the epicentre of the outbreak), other countries including Iran, Italy, Japan and the Philippines have also reported deaths related to novel coronavirus.

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across 20 countries since December 2019. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dubbed the virus as COVID-19. 

Read: Chinese man in Greater Noida locks himself up thinking he has Coronavirus, tests negative

Read: Amid coronavirus outbreak, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft advise employees to work from home

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Published March 6th, 2020 at 06:53 IST

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