15 Italians, quarantined in Delhi, suspected to have Coronavirus

Fifteen of 21 Italian tourists, who have been quarantined in Delhi, are suspected to have been infected with the deadly coronavirus, say sources. They were a part of a group of 23 Italian tourists who landed in Delhi and traveled to Rajasthan last month. One of these Italian tourists - currently in Jaipur - tested positive on Tuesday, making it the fifth case in India in the last two months; his wife is also under watch for suspected infection, reports NDTV. 

If confirmed, this will be the biggest group so far in the country to be infected with coronavirus that made an appearance in Wuhan, mainland China, in December and spread to more than 60 countries.

On Monday, two fresh cases of the disease were reported in Delhi and Hyderabad. The Delhi patient, 45, had recently gone to Italy, which is emerging as another hub for the outbreak.

According to sources, he was not screened at airport because he flew in from Austria, where the outbreak has not been declared serious. The crew of the Air India flight that flew him last week has been asked to stay in isolation at their homes for 14 days. A similar advisory has been issued to other passengers.

The affected passenger in Hyderabad -a techie from Bengaluru - had travelled on an IndiGo flight on February 20. The crew of the flight have been placed under observation.

Three others from Kerala - who contracted the virus last month - have been cured.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted that he had an "extensive review with (a) number of ministries and state governments regarding preparedness levels". He said there was "no need to panic". The government has set up a task force to monitor the situation.