Coronavirus impact: Delhi patient visited family in Agra; 6 members quarantined

A day after a Delhi man was found positive for the deadly coronavirus, six of his family members whom he met in Agra have been quarantined. Those infected had reportedly come in contact with the patient. These six people have also been kept in isolation at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The Health Ministry has said these six cases with "high-viral load" were detected during sample testing in Agra.

Health authorities are examining them and their samples have been sent to the the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for further examination.

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"Six cases with high viral load have been detected during sample testing in Agra. These are the ones who have come in contact with the COVID-19 patient from New Delhi, reported yesterday," a government statement said.

The six people had come in contact with a 45-year-old patient from Delhi, whose case came to light on Monday, as he visited Agra, a PTI report said. The government says it is tracing other people who might have come in contact with these six persons.

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Contact tracing of the people who came in contact with the six is simultaneously being done through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) network. On Monday, two cases of COVID19 were detected in Delhi and Telangana. The patients had travelled to Italy and Dubai before they were detected with the virus.

The Delhi coronavirus patient, a resident of Mayur Vihar, reportedly also attended a birthday party on Friday in Noida which was attended by many of his child's friends, their parents and some teachers.

India had earlier reported three cases from Kerala, including two medical students from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus. They had self-reported on their return to the country and tested positive for the infection. They were discharged from hospitals last month following recovery.

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With agency inputs