Coronavirus: Central team to visit Maharashtra for review

Mumbai: With at least 10 persons quarantined in three hospitals across Maharashtra for possible exposure to novel coronavirus, a central health department team is likely to visit the state soon to take a review of the preparedness for prevention and management of the disease, an official said on Thursday.

At least 27 persons are under observation in the state and as a precautionary measure 10 of them have been quarantined -- six at Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai, three at Pune's Naidu Hospital and another at a hospital in Nanded.

"A team of the Centre's health department is likely to visit Mumbai in the coming days as more and more cases of suspected novel coronavirus are surfacing," a senior state official told PTI.

"All the suspected coronavirus patients will continue to be kept under observation for at least 28 days," the official said, adding that the number of such cases is likely to go up.

When asked about the purpose of the central team's visit, the official said, "It is aimed at taking a review of the preparedness for prevention and management of the disease.

The team will also give some critical inputs."

"The itinerary of the visit and other details are being prepared. A state minister and several officials will also accompany the team," he added.

The government has already appealed to those who have returned from China after January 1 to report to state-run hospitals if they are suffering from cough and mild fever.

Novel coronavirus belongs to the coronavirus family that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes. It has emerged from a seafood and animal market in Wuhan city of China and is suspected to have spread as far as the United States.