Coronavirus: China-returned doctor quarantined in Rajasthan; patient kept in isolation

Jaipur, Jan 27: A suspected case of coronavirus has been reported in Rajasthan, following which the patient has been kept in isolation, state Health Minister Raghu Sharma said on Sunday.

He said a doctor, who returned to India after completing the MBBS course in China, was kept in isolation at the SMS Hospital here on the suspicion of being affected by coronavirus.

Directions were given to conduct a screening of all the family members of the patient, he added.

In an official statement, the minister said a blood sample of the patient was sent to the National Virology Laboratory in Pune.

He added that a total of 18 people from four districts of the state had returned to the country from China and the respective district chiefs and medical officers were directed to keep them under surveillance for 28 days.

Sharma also urged the Union health minister to make the screening facility available at the international terminals of various airports in the country.

Meanwhile, over 29,700 passengers from 137 flights were screened till Sunday for novel coronavirus infection at seven identified airports in the country but no positive case was detected, the Union Health Ministry said.

"Total of 29,707 passengers from 137 flights screened. 4,359 passengers of 22 flights screened today. No case of #coronarvirus found till date, " the Ministry tweeted.

The Union Health Minister has directed multidisciplinary central teams to go to the designated airports in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi where thermal screening is being done.