43 cases of coronavirus in country till now: Health Ministry

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday said that there are 43 cases of coronavirus in the country.

New Delhi [India], Mar 9 : The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday said that there are 43 cases of coronavirus in the country.

"As of today, there are 43 total cases (three positive cases from Kerala which are now discharged), out of which 40 are active cases of COVID-19 in the country," the Ministry said in a press release.

It said, "Four new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since yesterday's update - one from Ernakulum, Kerala, one from Delhi, one from Uttar Pradesh and one from Jammu. The five cases from Kerala reported yesterday are three family members with travel history to Italy and two of their relatives who came in contact with them. The family is reported to have visited relatives and attended few functions and their contacts are being traced as we speak."

The Ministry said, 43 samples have tested positive out of the 3,003 samples tested for COVID-19 with 2,694 samples having returned negative results.

A total of 8,74,708 international passengers from 8,255 flights have been screened at airports till now with 1,921 passengers identified as symptomatic. 177 of them have been hospitalised. 33,599 passengers are under observation. 21,867 passengers have completed their observation period, the Ministry said in the press release.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan is continuously monitoring and reviewing the status, actions taken and future preparedness of States. Also, Secretary (HFW) is reviewing the situation with States/UTs on a regular basis.

The Health Ministry appealed to the people to observe the Do's and Don'ts, coughing etiquettes, hand-washing and avoid large gatherings.

The people have also been urged to clearly reveal their travel history and fill the details in self-declaration forms properly.

( With inputs from ANI )