On Wednesday, the health ministry confirmed 23 new cases as the total number of people infected reaches 29. The novel coronavirus scare in India has taken a serious turn as new cases are from Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

26-year-old Paytm employee and a resident Janakpuri, is the second Delhi resident to contract coronavirus. He had returned from a vacation in Italy recently.

Many of the new cases were from Italian tourists, with 15 of them tested positive for the virus that includes the wife of the 69-year-old man, who is currently being treated in Jaipur and had possibly carried the infection from Italy.

Others infected cases included six relatives from Agra of the Delhi resident who was earlier tested positive.

The Paytm employee worked at the company’s Gurgaon office, which will beclosed for 15 days. The company’s employees in Noida and other offices across India has also been advised to work from home for the next two days. Paytm has advised all team members who had come in contact with the patient to get themselves tested. There are 3,000 employees in the firm, and the most of the work is done from offices in Noida and Gurgaon.

Health officials in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan – wherever the coronavirus patients had travelled are facing a huge task of tracing and testing everyone who could have come in contact with the infected people. The total number is estimated to be over 100.

Government sources said that people found positive for coronavirus are stable, except the 69-year-old Italian who was first in his group to be detected with COVID-19 is under treatment at Sawai Manshingh (SMS) hospital in Jaipur.

A source informed that the 69-year-old has some difficulty breathing and is given respiratory support using bi-pap machine, also being treated with various antibiotics and anti-viral drugs for symptomatic relief. His wife, who is also tested positive is being treated at the same hospital.

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said that no need to panic, as government has asked all states, including Delhi-NCR where the maximum positive cases of coronavirus are being treated to create more isolation facilities.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has announced for the creation of a state task force to manage thisepidemic and to check black-marketing of masks and sanitizers.

Coronavirus infection is spreading very fast and can cause severe symptoms in elderly and those with pre-existing illnesses. A top official in Niti Aayog said that the government is preparing to involve private hospitals as well to balance infrastructure for isolating and treating positive cases.

Till date, 94,348 cases and 3,221 deaths have been reported due to a novel coronavirus infection.

Epidemiologists said that no need to panic as per the latest reports from China, it shows that the outbreak has started to fade in China. One doctor said that with correct measures and proper awareness, coronavirus epidemic can be controlled. He further added that most infected cases are mild and mortality rate is around 3%, which is lesser than that of SARS and MERS.

Still, the anxiety levels are increasing. In spite of appeals by authorities, citizens across the country has complained that masks and sanitizersare unavailable at chemist shops and online stores too.

Source: The Times of India