nCoV: 56 of 60 people quarantined in Maharashtra so far test negative

 Fifty-six of the 60 people, who have been quarantined in Maharashtra so far for suspected exposure to the novel coronavirus, have tested negative, with 50 of them being discharged from hospitals, a state government official said on Sunday.

A person who had alighted from a Filipino cruise vessel in Mumbai and was isolated after he complained of cough and fever has also tested negative for the virus, the official said, adding that the ship has now reached Porbandar in neighbouring Gujarat.

"Of the 60 people who were kept in isolation wards, 56 have tested negative and 50 of them have been discharged. The test results of the other four are yet to arrive and is expected in the next two days. All samples were tested at Pune's National Institute of Virology," he said.

A Maharashtra government release said 36,028 people have undergone screening at the Mumbai international airport since January 18. It said 216 people have returned to Maharashtra from Covid-19 affected areas in China, of which 137 have completed their 14-day follow up period.

Those arriving from China and other areas affected by the virus are being kept under observation for a period of 14 days, the release said. Maharashtra, where no positive case for the virus has been reported so far, has set up 39 isolation compartments comprising 361 beds.

The death toll in China from the epidemic has climbed to 1,665 on Saturday after 142 more people died, mostly in the worst-hit Hubei Province, and the confirmed cases jumped to 68,500.