Ten people – seven in Kerala, two in Mumbai and one in Hyderabad – who were among the hundreds of passengers who returned from China in recent days, are inspecting hospitals to investigate the deadly novel coronavirus, the central and potential risk of state officials said on Friday.

Kerala officials said another 73 people were kept under medical supervision at their homes in the state.

More than 20,000 passengers returning from mainland China and Hong Kong have established the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi at seven international airports in Delhi and Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Cochin. Isolation wards and beds kept ready to provide treatment in any suspected case of respiratory infection.

According to Kerala State Health Ministry officials in Thiruvananthapuram, seven people who showed mild symptoms of fever, cough and sore throat are in state hospitals in various districts of the state. Two of them are in the state capital, while one is in Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Pathanamthitta.

The state government has advised those under home surveillance to stay at home for 28 days from the date of their departure from China.

Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that cause diseases ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndrome, but the virus is a novel strain in China and has not been seen before. It has killed 26 people so far and caused alarm due to its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

According to a Union Health Ministry official, two persons who have returned from China have been kept in a hospital in Mumbai, while one has been kept in a hospital in Hyderabad.

However, no positive cases have been reported in the country so far.

The official said that a total of 20,844 passengers traveling in 96 flights from China have been shown at the airports till 24 January.

Also, based on details provided by the Indian embassy in China, close to 25 students who have recently returned to India from Wuhan are being closely monitored, the official said.

Their details have been shared with district-level officials and they are being closely monitored for any symptoms.

The two men who returned to Mumbai from China have been kept in an isolation ward at Kasturba Hospital, and their blood samples have been collected to test the new strain of coronavirus, officials said in Mumbai.

He said 1,789 passengers had undergone thermal screening at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport since 19 January and two of them were admitted to the city’s Kasturba Hospital as a precaution.

A health department official said that so far, no cases of coronavirus infection have been detected during the screening.

“None of the passengers traveling to Wuhan city in China in the past 14 days were found positive (for the virus) during thermal scanning,” he said.

Coronavirus cases were first reported from Wuhan, capital of Hubei province in central China.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has created an isolation ward at Kasturba Hospital.

BMC Executive Health Officer Drs. Padmaja Keskar said, “An isolation ward has been created to diagnose and treat individuals suspected of virus infection.”

Keskar said that two people in the hospital have mild cough and show symptoms related to cold.

Doctors at the airport have been asked to send passengers returning from China to the isolation ward if they show any symptoms of novel coronaviruses, he said.

“All the private doctors in the city have been told to alert us if they observe symptoms of coronavirus in anyone who has returned from China,” he said.

According to Kasturba Hospital sources, he has received detailed instructions from the Maharashtra government on how to deal with coronavirus infection.

Officials said that apart from Kasturba Hospital, Naidu Hospital in Pune has also been provided with quarantine facilities.

During the screening at the Mumbai airport, six passengers – three from Pune and another three from Mumbai – undergo further medical examination, he said.

“Four of them were found to be perfectly fine.” As a precaution, two other people suffering from minor cold and cough were admitted to Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai and kept under observation.

“We have an isolation ward and we have beds ready to provide care and treatment of suspected coronavirus cases anywhere in Delhi or India,” AIIMS director Randeep Guleria said.

“All precautionary measures – in the context of personal protective equipment for health workers to prevent the spread of disease while treating infected patients – are in place.”