Coronavirus outbreak: 15 under observation in Maharashtra, no positive case yet

Maharashtra government's health department on Monday said that while there has been no positive case of Coronavirus in the State so far, 15 people are still under observation. It added that all the 258 people, who were under observation, have been tested negative and got discharged.

"Fifteen people are still under observation, 258 people have been discharged. Not a single person has been found positive for coronavirus infection in the State, as of now," a senior official stated.

As per an official statement issued by the government, the total number of positive cases in India has risen to 43. No deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 in the country. 

In order to spread awareness about the deadly virus, a special mobile phone caller tune was launched by all telecom operators sharing basic measures to prevent the infection. Over 117.2 crore subscribers of BSNL, MTNL Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea are being progressively reached out to through SMSs and Call Backs.

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Maharashtra government launches helpline number

The Maharashtra Government on Thursday, March 6, launched a helpline number for the public to seek help in case of coronavirus infection. This step from the Maharashtra government came after the number of people tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in India reached 30.

As many as 52 laboratories are functioning across the country for testing the COVID-19 virus. An additional 57 laboratories have been set up with Viral Transport Media and swabs to collect samples.

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Briefing the Maharashtra Assembly on the state's preparedness to tackle the novel Coronavirus, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray assured that the state government was equipped to deal with the disease. He appealed all MLAs to maintain calm among their constituents.

He also briefed on the steps issued by the government to hospitals, airports, and others to scan travelers and to isolate patients respectively. 

"We should not panic and fight the Coronavirus together. The requirement of masks needed to protect oneself has been stocked by the government sufficiently. We have also requested private hospitals to ensure the readiness of a quarantine ward to isolate the affected patients.

I have also briefed Mumbai, Nagpur airport authorities to scan all international flights and authorities have also been briefed to provide adequate protective equipment to cleaning staff," CM Uddhav said. 

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