The total cases in the country has increased to 62 with an 85-year-old man, who had returned from Dubai to Jaipur on 28th February and tested positive for coronavirus infection. State authorities said that on 10th March, 14 more people have tested positive for COVID-19, eight in Kerala and 3 each in Karnataka and Maharashtra.

In the meantime, the Health Ministry has said that for the first time, it has used a combination of two drugs primarily used for HIV treatment. These drugs are been used for the treatment of the elderly Italian couple at Jaipur hospital.

The Drug Controller General of India has permitted and approved the “limited use” of the combination of Lopinavir and Ritonavir medications that are second-line HIV drugs and used for treating those affected by coronavirus.

The latest updates in the country are as follows:

• An 85-year-old man tested positive in Jaipur, had returned from Dubai on 28th February. He was sent to the isolation ward in Sawai Man Singh Government Hospital after being tested positive for coronavirus infection. He was suffering from fever, cough and breathing problems from the time he arrived in Jaipur. He was previously taken to two private hospitals and from there was referred to SMS Hospital for diagnosis.
• 9 people out of the 42 passengers who arrived from Italy on Wednesday morning are referred to the Government Medical College, Ernakulam, whereas the remaining 33 passengers are isolated at the Aluva district hospital.
• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has stated that people who are travelling from or had visited Italy and South Korea will have to submit certificate of being tested negative for COVID-19 by the health authorities from laboratories at the designated labs in their respective countries. It is a temporary measure till cases of coronavirus decreases.
• Officials of the Health Department said that a 45-year-old man, who had returned from Muscat and was tested positive for coronavirus has turned negative. The patient is undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. He is asymptomatic and stable.
• The 24-year-old first COVID-19 case from Telangana would get discharged in four days if his test comes negative in the second successive test. He was admitted to Gandhi Hospital with viral pneumonia on 1st March and is tested negative for coronavirus infection on Sunday.
• The Andhra Pradesh government is going to conduct a two-day door-to-door survey from Wednesday to identify the persons who had been recently to coronavirus affected countries. The survey is to reach to those people who have not followed the 28-day mandatory observation and isolation and also check for any possible spread of the coronavirus.

Source: The Hindu