India identifies 29 coronavirus cases as global infections top 94,000

An increase in the new coronavirus in India has raised concerns that the second-most populous country in the world could face its own outbreak of the deadly virus, which has so far infected more than 94,900 people and killed at least 3,283 worldwide.
Twenty-nine cases have been confirmed within the country, three of which have been recovered. Many of the cases are related to a group of travelers from Italy, the most affected country in Europe, said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

The government has started detecting coronavirus for all passengers arriving in the country.

The country's authorities warned cautiously, but did not raise the alarm. Vardhan told MPs on Tuesday that health authorities are focusing on "India's central capabilities for disease preparedness and response".

Vardhan also said that the government is preparing a "containment plan" for the city of Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, where a group of cases has been identified.

"The scope and extent of our interventions have increased in line with the evolution of the COVID-19 situation worldwide, and particularly in India," he said, referring to the disease by its formal name. "With the growing global spread of the disease, we face new challenges. Tracking contacts from positive cases requires monitoring hundreds of contacts in multiple locations and monitoring their health."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "there is no need to panic" earlier this week on Twitter and warned public opinion that the government is "working together" to prevent the virus from spreading further.

The vast majority of cases, however, are still found in mainland China. The country's National Health Commission (NHC) reported that 3,012 people had died by the end of Wednesday and 80,409 cases had been confirmed. More than 52,000 patients have been hospitalized and discharged from the hospital, according to the NHC.

Modi said on Wednesday that he would not attend Holi celebrations next week, the Hindu festival that marks the beginning of spring when revelers throw colored powder paint, due to expert advice to avoid mass gatherings. Holi's celebrations in the presidential palace were also canceled.

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