New Delhi, February 1: The Government of India's Health and Family Welfare Department on Saturday had a video conference in order to review the process of screening passengers from different countries in light of the coronavirus outbreak in China. After the conference, a decision was taken to the effect that apart from passengers from China and Hong Kong, passengers coming on flights from Singapore and Thailand shall also be screened. Coronavirus Outbreak: Kerala Girl, Who Tested Positive for SARS-Like Virus, Stable; Govt Keeps 1,471 Suspects Under Observation.

The decision comes on the day when a special Air India plane landed on Saturday morning after evacuating 324 Indian nationals from the novel coronavirus-hit Wuhan and another flight of the airline would leave the national capital for the Chinese city in the afternoon, officials said. The first plane — Air India’s jumbo B747 aircraft carrying 211 students, 110 working professionals and three minors– reached Delhi around 7.30 am, said reports. Google Search Results for 'Coronavirus' Shows SOS Alert Info Amid Virus Outbreak in China's Wuhan.

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The virus that emerged in early December and traced to a market in Hubei province capital Wuhan that sold wild animals, has now spread to more than two dozen nations, including India where the first case is confirmed in Kerala, the US, Britain, Russia and Sweden.

Chinese health authorities on Saturday announced that the death toll has increased to 259 as 46 more people, all but one in Hubei, died in the preceding 24 hours.

With 2,102 new infections, the total confirmed cases in China increased to 11,791, the biggest increase since China began reporting the spread of the virulent virus on January 21. China’s National Health Commission in its daily report on Saturday said that 1,795 patients remained in critical condition, and 17,988 people were suspected of being infected with the virus as of the end of Friday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2020 08:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).