A woman from Pune in her early 40s, who had no history of travel abroad, has tested positive for the COVID-19, a medical official said on Saturday, PTI reported. However, the Centre refused to call it a case of community transmission yet, and said contact tracing is still under way.
The woman, who is currently on ventilator support at Bharti Hospital in the city, tested positive for the infection after her throat swabs were sent to the National Institute of Virology to check for swine flu, the official said.
The official added that while the woman does not have a travel history to a foreign country, she visited Navi Mumbai to attend a wedding on March 3.
“We are investigating the case,” Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said. “Although she tested positive for COVID-19, she does not have a history of travel abroad. She must have come in contact with someone who had foreign travel history.” Ram added that details of her travel by cab to Mumbai are being investigated, and her case has been referred to higher administrative authorities.
Another official said that a 25-year-old man from Pune who tested positive had recently travelled to Ireland. The man was admitted to Naidu Hospital on Friday, and his swab samples came out positive later in the evening.
As many as 271 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in India so far, and four people have died. Maharashtra alone has reported 63 cases, the highest for any state in the country. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday announced a shutdown of all shops and restaurants, as well as private offices in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region till March 31.
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