An Italian tourist in Jaipur tested positive for novel Coranavirus, taking the total number of confirmed cases in India to six so far, Union Health Ministry sources said Tuesday.
The tourist's wife was also found to have been infected with coronavirus also tested positive for the virus here on Tuesday and her samples are being sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for another test, an official said.
"The wife of the Italian tourist also developed symptoms and samples were collected. The report indicates positive signs of the virus in her. For further confirmation, we are sending her sample to the NIV, Pune," the official of the Rajasthan Health Department said.
The first sample collected from the man on Saturday had tested negative, but his condition deteriorated and a second sample was collected, which tested positive on Monday.
"Since there was a variation in the reports, samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing," officials said, adding that it had tested positive. The couple has been kept in isolation at the Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh Hospital.
India on Monday reported two new cases of the deadly coronavirus, one from Delhi and another one from Hyderabad. The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed over 3,100 people worldwide.
Rajasthan Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma instructed health officials to screen all those people who had come in contact with the man.
Asking to step up vigil, the minister also asked officials to send a rapid response team of the Medical Education and Health Department to the places visited by the patient, along with 19 others from Italy.
The team, including senior professors and epidemiologists, will inspect hotels and excursions in Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Mandawa (Jhunjhunu) and Jaisalmer.
Jaipur Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Narottam Sharma said the room where the 69-year-old tourist stayed has been locked.
"The room will be disinfected as per the procedure. The hotel authorities will be able to use it only after it is properly disinfected," Sharma said, adding that samples of the four staffers who were in touch with the tourist have also been collected for testing.
An earlier test conducted at the same government hospital had cleared the man of the virus. However, since the two reports were contradictory, the SMS Hospital sent his swab sample to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, which on Tuesday confirmed that he was infected with the virus.
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