Coronavirus in preliminary stage in Uttarakhand, says health department

As Uttarakhand reported its first positive case for coronavirus recently, the state government said the infection is in its preliminary stage and the situation is well within the control.

Director General Health Amita Upreti told reporters that the condition of a probationer at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) who tested positive for the infection in the state is stable and no suspected cases have come to the fore so far.

Appealing to people to take all precautions to protect against the virus, she asked them not to panic as 95 per cent of the cases are cured by their own immunity.

Mortality rate due to Covid-19 is just two-three per cent, she said.

Frequently washing hands, avoiding touching the eyes, mouth or nose, eating well-cooked food and increased fruit and liquid intake, besides social distancing can be effective precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Upreti said.

Giving updates, she said by March 17, 78 samples were sent for testing, of which 32 had foreign travel history, and the rest were of people who had come in contact with them.

The test reports of 29 samples have arrived out of which only one has tested positive for the virus. The person is in the isolation ward of a hospital, she said, adding that the condition is fine.

There are 337 isolation beds and 801 quarantine facilities in the state, she said.