15 Italian tourists test positive for coronavirus; total number rises to 28 in India

Fifteen Italian tourists tested positive in preliminary testsfor the novel coronavirus in New Delhi taking the total number of confirmed cases to 28in India. The authorities have sent the samples to a facility in Pune for final confirmation.

On Tuesday, 21 Italian nationals,residing in a hotel in South Delhi, were shifted to Indo-Tibetan Border Police quarantine facility for preventive isolation.

Worldwide, nearly 3,000 people have been killed and about 87,000 infected since the virus was first detected late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

While the numbers in China are still far lower than the huge daily increases reported during the first two weeks of February, COVID-19 has spread rapidly across borders, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging as hotspots.

To combat the spread of coronavirus, 'We will be conducting a universal screening of all passengers coming from all international flights," health minister also said.

"Out of these 28, three are from Kerala, one each from Delhi and Telangana, six from Agra, an Italian group which had come to India for travelling and their Indian driver which makes it seventeen people," Harsh Vardhan also said.

Last month, three cases were recorded in Kerala, who have now recovered and discharged from hospital.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that the Delhi government has made full preparations to tackle the situation.

For providing treatment to the patients, 25 Delhi hospitals, including 19 government hospitals and six private hospitals have been equipped to handle the influx of patients in case of an emergency.

(With inputs from agencies)