More than 14,000 passengers have undergone screening at the international airport here in nearly three weeks for the novel coronavirus after returning from China and currently four persons are under observation, said a Maharashtra health department official on 6th February.

He said of the four persons under observation for suspected coronavirus infection, three are at Nagpur-based Government Medical College and Hospital, while the fourth one has been admitted to civic-run Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai. Swab sample test report of a person admitted at Nagpur came negative on Thursday, while the reports of the other two are expected on Friday, the official said. Until now, a total of 22 people have been discharged from various hospitals after their swab sample reports were found to be negative for the viral infection, he said.

No confirmed case of the deadly virus, which has killed 564 people in China till now, has been detected yet in Maharashtra. Since January 18, a total of 14,373 passengers, who returned from coronavirus-hit China, have been screened at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for the infection, said the official. The health department is also surveying for people who have returned from China and until now 129 such people have been found since January 18, he said.

Today in regional survey, some new passengers were found at Jalgaon, Nashik and Ahmednagar, who have returned from coronavirus affected areas. District-wise surveillance teams are taking follow-up of them, the official said. A Maharashtra government release said people returning from China are being examined as per directives issued by the Union government. Until now, the government has kept a follow-up of 129 people who have returned from coronavirus-hit areas of China, and 54 of them have completed 14-day quarantine, it said.

On Wednesday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope appealed to citizens not to believe in messages and rumours under circulation on social media about curing the coronavirus infection. The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes, but the virus that has killed people in China is a novel strain and not seen before. Common symptoms of the novel coronavirus strain include respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the WHO.

The WHO has declared the coronavirus epidemic as a global health emergency. The virus - which first emerged in Wuhan city in China's central Hubei province - has spread to 25 countries, including India (three confirmed cases have been reported from Kerala), the US and the UK.

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