Coronavirus Update: Number Of Cases In India Rises To 39 As 5 More Test Positive In Kerala

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja has confirmed the news said the state had five new positive cases at Pathanamthitta district, and that they now been isolated in the state-run hospital there.

The total number of people infected by the coronavirus or COVID-19 in India has now gone up to 39 with five more cases having been found positive on Sunday. (Getty images)

New Delhi: The total number of people infected by the coronavirus or COVID-19 in India has now gone up to 39 with five more cases having been found positive on Sunday. Five of a family tested positive for coronavirus in Kerala today. With this, the state on Sunday sounded an all-around alert, with the police warning that those who come from countries where coronavirus is raging and fail to report to health authorities will be prosecuted. Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja has confirmed the news said the state had five new positive cases at Pathanamthitta district, and that they now been isolated in the state-run hospital there. She said the family consisting of a couple - a 54-year-old man and his 53-year-old wife - and their 24-year-old son, had come from Italy on February 29 but behaved irresponsibly by not reporting to the authorities.

Total positive cases of #Coronavirus in the country rises to 39 https://t.co/7rGWznHaM8

— ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2020

As on Saturday, there were at least 34 cases of COVID-19 reported from India. The latest were from Ladakh and Tamil Nadu on Saturday, having travel history from Iran and Oman respectively. On January 30, a medical student from Thrissur studying in Wuhan, China, became the first coronavirus positive patient in the country and soon two of her classmates also turned positive. All three of them have now recovered. Watch | Coronavirus in India: 5 new cases confirmed, toll rises to 39 At present, there are at least 16 Italian nationals in India, who tested positive for the disease. Other cases in the country have been reported from Agra, New Delhi and Gurugram. As many as 52 laboratories are now operational across the country for testing COVID-19 virus. An additional 57 laboratories have been provided with viral transport media and swabs for sample collection. Also Watch | Kejriwal: Delhi has 3 positive cases and 1 suspected case of coronavirus According to the Health Ministry, over seven lakh people from more than 7,000 flights have been screened at different airports. In order to spread awareness, a special COVID-19 mobile phone caller tune has been launched by all telecom operators, playing basic infection prevention messages when a caller dials-out.