Over 700 people under surveillance at firm of Delhi man who tested positive for COVID-19

More than 700 people working in a leather company in Greater Noida have been put under surveillance after a Delhi-based director of the firm tested positive for novel coronavirus, officials said on Friday.

The 46-year-old man had recently travelled to Italy, Switzerland before returning to India, Gautam Buddh Nagar Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Anurag Bhargava said.

When the man, who lives in Delhi, returned home he felt weakness and consulted doctors who tested him positive for coronavirus. However, he kept visiting the company since returning from abroad because of which all 707 employees of the company have been put on surveillance," Bhargava told reporters.

"His family members and children are already under surveillance," Bhargava said, adding that the company is also being sanitised under the watch of experts.

He said the Health Department is in touch with the people under surveillance and anybody showing any symptoms for the novel virus will be tested.

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"The man who has tested positive would sit in his office only during visits to the company so the chances of him contacting many people are less and hence employees are only on surveillance," he added.

The CMO said so far nobody has shown any symptoms for coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar and advised people to exercise utmost precaution.

People with cough, fever, cold or lethargy should consult medical experts and put themselves in self-isolation in order to not spread it further, he said. The man, who lives in West Delhi's Janakpuri area, had tested positive on March 11.

More than 1,30,000 cases of the novel coronavirus have been recorded in 116 countries and territories, killing at least 4,900 people.

The number of coronavirus patients in the country is 75, including the death of a 76-year-old man in Karnataka, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. 

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