406 people brought back from Wuhan may be released next week

New Delhi, Feb 16: A total of 406 people, who are housed at a quarantine facility of the ITBP after being brought back from China due to coronavirus outbreak there, may be released next week if their final samples turn out to be negative, officials said.

The final samples of all the people quarantined at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) facility here were collected by a team of doctors on Friday and the reports are expected to be received by Monday.

"Based on the reports, a decision will be taken to discharge the travellers, if agreed to by the authorities, which is expected to be done in next week observing laid down protocols and due medical procedures as per the directives of Health Ministry," PRO of the ITBP Vivek Kumar Pandey said in a statement.

A senior home ministry official said all of them will be released by next week if the final samples test negative.

A total of 650 people were brought back from Wuhan in China on February 1 and 2 in two 747 Boeing Air India aircraft after the novel Coronavirus outbreak there.

While 406 people, including seven from Maldives, are being looked after at the quarantine ITBP facility here, rest are at an Army centre at Manesar in Haryana.

The ITBP centre is being looked after by an expert team of doctors and medical professionals. There are seven children, including an infant in the group.

"No fresh symptoms have been seen today. Food, bed and other basic requirements are catered. Sufficient amount of medicines are also kept at the centre," Pandey said.

The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic has climbed to 1,523 with 143 new fatalities reported mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province while the confirmed cases jumped to over 66,000, health officials said on Saturday.

India has so far reported three confirmed cases of the virus, all in Kerala.

One of the three medical students, who had tested positive for novel coronavirus infection and were treated at a hospital in Kerala, has been discharged after recovery.

Passengers arriving in flights from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and South Korea were being screened for possible exposure to the respiratory virus at 21 identified airports in India.