Karnataka reports new positive COVID-19 cases, toll rises to 4 in State

Three more positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in Karnataka, taking the total number of cases in the State to four, Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu informed on Tuesday. The patient's family members have been isolated and their health is being monitored, he added.

"I urge citizens to take precautionary measures and co-operate in preventing the spread of this infection," Sriramulu said.

As of Tuesday, the tally of persons affected by the coronavirus in India stands at 47, after two new cases were reported from Pune. As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in the past 24 hours, one positive case from Kerala, two from Pune, and three from Bengaluru have been confirmed.

Apart from the ICMR, the National Institute of Virology, Pune, 51 Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories, and National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, are all conducting tests for COVID-19.

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Over 9 lakh persons screened so far

According to the data released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), as many as 9.41 lakh international passengers from 8,827 flights have been screened for COVID-19 infection as of March 9. Out of these, only 54 passengers have either been referred to hospitals or brought under the IDSP community surveillance. At present, there are 286 doctors, 295 paramedics and 160 nurses stationed at airports across the country for screening purposes.

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WHO on Coronavirus: 'Pandemic threat is real'

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday has said that the pandemic threat seems real now as the virus continues to spread worldwide. The virus, which has reportedly started from Wuhan, China, has so far claimed 3,893 lives with 111,862 cases detected worldwide. So far, 47 people have been tested positive in India. However, no deaths have been reported in India yet.

Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "WHO has consolidated our guidance for countries in four categories: those with no cases; those with sporadic cases; those with clusters; and those with community transmission.

For all countries, the aim is the same: Stop transmission and prevent the spread of the virus. For the first three categories, countries must focus on finding, testing, treating and isolating individual cases, and following their contacts."

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(With inputs from ANI)