21 Italian tourists taken to ITBP camp for coronavirus test

A day after an Italian couple tested positive for coronavirus in Rajasthan, 21 other members of the touring group have been shifted from a luxurious hotel to an ITBP quarantine centre, here on Tuesday.

Three Indians, who were reportedly assisting the Italian nationals during their India visit, have also been shifted to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp in west Delhi's Chhawla area.

The Italians and the Indians were shifted from Grand Hotel in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj, sources at the ITBP camp told IANS. "Alls the 24 people -- 21 Italian tourists and three Indians -- are being monitored by doctors. Their samples have been sent to AIIMS for coronavirus testing," said the source.

The Italians, aged 50-60 years, belonged to the batch of the same tourist group whose one member and his wife tested positive for coronavirus at a Jaipur hospital. The sample of the infected tourist's wife have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for confirmation.

The Chhawla camp is also hosting 112 evacuees from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of coronavirus, since February 27. These Wuhan evacuees are under close observation. The group comprises 80 males, 32 females and 5 children. Of this, 76 are Indians and 36 foreign nationals. Their test reports have been negative.

Of the foreign nationals, 23 are from Bangladesh, six from China, two each from Myanmar and Maldives, and one each from Madagascar, South Africa and the US.

The Italian tourists came under lens, when first positive case of coronavirus was reported in Delhi and another case in Telangana.

The coronavirus toll in China has risen to 2,943 and the number of confirmed cases 80,151, authorities said on Tuesday. IANS