Vigil strengthened along border in West Bengal after Nepal confirms 1st coronavirus case

After Nepal confirmed its first case of coronavirus, the Ministry of Health on Monday strengthened vigil at Panitanki (West Bengal) entry point from Nepal.

"We are on high vigil in districts bordering Nepal. We have strengthened vigil at Panitanki (West Bengal) entry point from Nepal," said the Ministry of Health.

On Sunday, a total of 29,707 passengers from 137 flights were screened in India and the country has remained coronavirus free so far.

On January 24, Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population had confirmed the first case of coronavirus after the examination of bodily fluid of a student, who recently came back from Wuhan.

Nepal is the sixth nation in the world, where a case of the virus has been confirmed. The infected person, 30-year old PhD student, was quarantined at Sukraraj Tropical Hospital for about five days.

The virus, which has no effective vaccine, was reported on January 16 in Japan, the first case outside China and its territories.

Coronaviruses (nCoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death