India registers 34 cases of coronavirus, emergency meeting called

New Delhi : With three fresh cases of coronavirus - 2 from Ladakh and 1 from Tamil Nadu - the total number of positive cases in India has gone up to 34. 

"Two cases have been reported from Ladakh with travel history to Iran while one case has come in from Tamil Nadu with travel history to Oman. All the cases are stable," said a Union Health Ministry release.

The 45-year-old Tamil Nadu patient had traveled to Muscat in Oman recently. He has been admitted to the isolation ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai.

Senior State health officials said the man was advised home quarantine after he landed and reported symptoms. His samples were sent for testing and the results were received on Saturday.

His family has been put into the home quarantine and has been asked to report immediately if any symptom is seen.

The Union Health Ministry added that in the case of the two American nationals found positive in Bhutan with a travel history of various places in India, more than 150 of their contacts have been put under surveillance.

Thirty-one cases are being treated in hospitals and are stable, a senior health official said.

“In addition, 108 samples have been received from Iran on Saturday morning,” the Health Ministry said.

“These samples are being tested at the laboratory in AIIMS. Also, six scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have been stationed in Iran. Equipment and reagents, worth approximately ₹10 crore have been dispatched to enable them to set up a lab,” the Ministry added.