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A Serbian national who returned from China, and reached Goa via New Delhi, is the first “suspect case” of coronavirus in the state and is now in the special corona isolation ward at Goa Medical College, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Tuesday.
In Madhya Pradesh, a medicine student pursuing studies in Wuhan, China, and his mother have been quarantined in an isolated ward of a government hospital in Ujjain for suspected coronavirus since Monday.
While the J&K administration on Tuesday ordered screening at airports of people arriving from China, Nepal and other countries where confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported, the Manipur Health Department has issued an order to depute a team of officials along the India-Myanmar border for screening foreigners and Indian nationals coming into the state after travelling to China and its neighbouring countries.
The team comprising six health officials will be stationed at the India-Myanmar friendship gate numbers one and two at border town Moreh and screen visitors coming into Indian side. Manipur shares a 398-km border with Myanmar, an immediate neighbour of China. While Health officials of Manipur are yet to start their screening operations, Myanmar authorities have started screening people entering that country from the Indian side at border gates since Monday.
With the tourist season under way in Goa, Rane said all precautions are being taken at Goa airport. “This particular person is a Serbian national who arrived via Delhi and reached Cancona (beach in south Goa). We were informed on his status by the Central government. Since he also showed symptoms he was quickly quarantined,” the minister said.
In Bhopal, authorities said the student had returned from China to Ujjain on January 13 and showed symptoms similar to coronavirus. He was reportedly not screened at Delhi airport. He spent few days at home in Ujjain but when cold and fever persisted he was taken to the hospital.
CMHO Dr Mahavir Khandelwal said throat swab samples of the mother-son duo have been sent to NIV Pune for analysis.