23 new cases including 17 from Maharashtra test positive for COVID-19, Dr Vardhan reviews status

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New Delhi : With 23 new cases testing positive, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases increased to 107 on March 15, 2020. Twenty-three new positive cases have been detected since the last update including 17 are from Maharashtra, 2 from Telangana, 1 from Rajasthan, and 3 from Kerala. The two deceased patients had pre-existing co-morbidities. Contract tracing of these cases is being rigorously pursued. So far, this has led to identification of more than 4,000 contacts who have been put under surveillance.

The Buldana patient, who was at a private hospital and whose sample was taken and who died on March 14, 2020, tested negative for COVID-19.

Union Health and Family Minister Dr  Harsh Vardhan reviewed the status, actions taken by States\UTs, and their preparedness regarding prevention, containment, and management of COVID-19, here on March 15, 2020. Dr Vardhan was apprised of the emerging international and national status on COVID-19, and the steps by Government of India and the states/UTs for prevention, containment, and management of COVID-19.

He reviewed the status and preparedness of the States/UTs in terms of quarantine facilities; isolation wards, adequacy of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), masks, testing kits etc. Dr Vardhan also advised the states/UTs for maintaining hygiene and cleanliness at the hospitals and adhere to all laid down protocols for containment and management of COVID-19. He reviewed the steps taken by various States for social distancing in great detail. The measures taken for avoiding non-essential travel and mass gatherings was also reviewed by him. Outcomes of the discussion of the meeting held on March 15 shall be placed before the Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 at its on March 16.

Dr Vardhan  directed for scaling up capacity of the 24×7 Control Room Helpline (011-23978046) by adding more lines and additional human resource to serve the queries on COVID-19 through the Control Room.

In addition, as part of efforts of the Government to evacuate Indian citizens from COVID-19 affected countries, an Air India flight from Milan, Italy, arrived in Delhi on March 15 morning carrying 218 evacuees. They are being quarantined at the ITBP camp at Chhawla as per protocol. In addition, the third batch of 236 evacuees from Iran arrived on March 15 and are being quarantined at the Army facility in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. They have already been tested prior to their departure from Iran. All are reported to be asymptomatic at present. Also, a total 265 passengers coming from COVID-19 affected countries have been quarantined at Trivandrum, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, according to a PIB release.