Officials suspect coronavirus case in Himachal Pradesh, CM Thakur assures about tests

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Tuesday, March 3, stated that a case of novel Coronavirus has been suspected in the State. Speaking to the media, Thakur said, "It's not right to jump to conclusions. Tests will be done, factual position will be clear only after his (suspected patient's) reports come in. We have come to know that the person is from Bilaspur." 

As of now, six cases of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19 )have been reported in India. As per the Health Ministry, the new cases of COVID-19 have been reported from New Delhi, Telangana, and Rajasthan where an Italian national has been tested positive with the infection in Jaipur. The first case of the virus in India was reported in Kerala. 

Read: 11 quarantined at Jaipur hospital, samples sent for testing coronavirus infection: Officials

Indian Army Major kept in isolation

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, an Indian Army Major who recently returned from Iran has been asked to remain in isolation over suspicion of the deadly virus. According to reports, the army officer has not been admitted to any hospital. Further, he has voluntarily offered himself for a medical investigation and has been kept in isolation only as a precautionary measure. 

Read: World Bank announces $12 billion financial package for countries battling coronavirus

Coronavirus outbreak

According to the latest reports, 42 new deaths in China due to coronavirus infections have been confirmed, taking the total death toll to over 3,000. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan (the epicentre of the outbreak), other countries including Iran, Italy, Japan and the Philippines have also reported deaths related to novel coronavirus.

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across 20 countries since December 2019. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dubbed the virus as COVID-19. 

On March 1, UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock released $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the virus. The announcement came soon after the WHO upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to "very high" – its top level of risk assessment. The WHO has said there is still a chance of containing the virus if its chain of transmission is broken. 

Read: Indian Army Major returns from Iran, kept in isolation as precaution against coronavirus

Read: Himachal Pradesh witnesses rise in number of Snow Leopard, officials call it a 'good sign'