At least two people have died of coronavirus in India so far. A 68-year-old woman,a resident of West Delhi, lost her life on Friday because of coronavirus infection. She had contracted the virus from her son who had returned to India last month after visiting Switzerland and Italy. Earlier on Thursday, a 76-year-old man had died of the dreaded COVID-19 in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India touched 81 on Friday. According to the Health Ministry, of the confirmed cases, 64 are of Indian nationals, 16 Italian nationals and 1 Canadian national. Contact tracing of these cases is being actively pursued. So far, the process has led to the identification of more than 4,000 contacts who have been kept under surveillance.
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Over 5,000 people have lost their lives globally due to coronavirus infection so far. More than 134,300 people have been infected by coronavirus in 121 countries to date. A total of 3,176 people have died in mainland China, followed by 1,016 in Italy and 514 in Iran. These three countries count for the highest number of fatalities.
The Indian government brought at least 42,296 passengers under community surveillance, out of which 2,559 were symptomatic and 522 hospitalized, including 17 foreign nationals.
In addition, at least 11,71,061 passengers have been screened from 10,876 flights at 30 designated airports. The Joint Secretary also said that 3,062 passengers and 583 contacts were identified and referred to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and designated hospitals.
So far, 890 evacuees from COVID19 affected countries have been discharged after 14-day isolation and having tested negative as per protocols, said the ministry.
The government has facilitated the return of Indians from coronavirus-hit countries such as China, Iran and Japan.
So far 1,199 samples have been collected in Iran and brought to India for testing.
The government has sent a team of four doctors from the Health Ministry to Rome. The team has sufficient material and reagents to collect samples of Indians.
