A suspected case of novel coronavirus (nCoV) has been identified in Bihar’s Chapra area. As per media reports, the girl has recently returned from China with symptoms similar to the coronavirus.
She was first admitted to ICU at a hospital in Chapra and later was rushed to the Patna Medical College and Hospital. Her blood samples will be sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune for tests.
In Jaipur, a man has been admitted to the SMS Hospital for suspected coronavirus infection. The man also returned from China after pursuing a medical degree.
Over 29,700 passengers from 137 flights have been screened for coronavirus infection at seven identified airports in the country till January 26th, 2020. No confirmed cases have been reported till now.
On the other hand, the death toll from grew to 80 on January 27th, 2020 in China. The total number of confirmed cases in China had risen to 2,744.
China has banned wildlife trade nationwide in markets, supermarkets, restaurants, and e-commerce platforms from January 26th, 2020. Any places that breed wildlife should be isolated, and the transportation of wildlife should be banned, the country’s market watchdog, agricultural ministry, and forestry bureau said in a joint statement.
Lockdown continues in Wuhan and 17 other cities in Hubei province. All bus, metro and ferry services have been suspended, and all outbound planes and trains cancelled in Wuhan – the epicentre of the outbreak. China extended the Lunar New Year break until February 2nd, 2020 from January 30th, 2020 originally.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health has activated global networks of experts, quickly developed advice for countries everywhere, and is working with them to activate their response systems.
The transmission ability of the virus is getting stronger and infections could continue to rise. This was stated by China’s National Health Commission Ma Xiaowei on January 26th, 2020, Reuters reported.
The WHO has declared the new coronavirus an ’emergency in China’ but is yet to declare it global health emergency and has given its experts more time to gather information. There is no vaccine for the new virus yet and the symptoms include fever, cough and difficulty in breathing.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has set up a round-the-clock call centre to attend to the queries about the nCoV as the death toll from the deadly outbreak in China reached 80.
“A 24×7 @NCDCgov Call Centre (+91-11-23978046) has been operationalised to monitor the list of contacts furnished by MEA; provide details of surveillance officers & in case of any query, direct concerned to relevant Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) officer,” the Union Minister for Health Harsh Vardhan said in a tweet.
Photo credit: theprovince.com
