Coronavirus: Govt sets up 2 more labs to test samples

Bengaluru: The state health department has added two more institutions to test samples of suspected coronavirus cases.

The newly added institutions are Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences and Ballari’s Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences.

As the state intensifies its response to any possible outbreak of the deadly infection, just one patient still remains at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), an Iranian.

RGICD director Nagaraja informed that they have discharged three patients – an Omani, a Filipino and (a person) from another country, as their samples tested negative for Covid-19. “The Iranian will be discharged on March 10, as per the Centre’s revised guidelines,” he added.

Two other suspected cases remain in Hassan and Vijayapura district hospitals.

As the coronavirus epidemic spreads globally, Covid-19 cases and deaths due to the novel virus continue to rise. Italy recorded the second-highest toll in the world, after reporting a sharp jump in deaths and overtaking South Korea on infections. The number of fatalities nearly tripled, rising from 133 to 366 on Sunday. China reported 22 new deaths on Monday, the lowest number of fresh cases since the outbreak.