Two people admitted to Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital have tested positive for the coronavirus.
According to the Public Health Department of Maharashtra, there are now seven positive cases in the state. They patients in Mumbai join five others in Pune who were diagnosed earlier this week.
This number has since been updated to 10, with three more people testing positive in Pune.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that 10 cases have been found in the state so far, with 8 being from Pune. These could be mild cases of the epidemic, he said.
A couple who had travelled from Dubai to Pune via Mumbai were the first to test positive, on Monday evening. Soon after, their daughter tested positive, as did one of the people who had travelled with them on their flight. The driver of the car that had transported them from Mumbai to Pune also tested positive for the virus.
The two individuals in Mumbai are part of a group of people who have been quarantined in the city's Kasturba Hospital.
The Free Press Journal's Vikas Nag reported that the two people who tested positive have been isolated for treatment and that even family members were not allowed to visit them.
Four others who had been quarantined in Kasturba hospital have tested negative, but are being kept under observation in another ward for a few days before they are released.
The number of cases is now at 60 and includes 16 Italian tourists as of Wednesday evening. The number would rise once the official tally takes into account the two new cases in Mumbai.
According to the health ministry, there have been five cases in Delhi and nine in Uttar Pradesh. Karnataka had reported four cases, while Ladakh has seen two people test positive. Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab have reported one case each, while Kerala tops the list with 17 cases. This includes the three people who have recovered and was discharged last month.
With the number of cases crossing 60 on Wednesday, a high level Group of Ministers was constituted to assess the situation and evaluate the country's preparedness.
Passengers with travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany have been asked to undergo a self-imposed quarantine for 14 days after arrival. Universal screening is being done for the travellers from 12 countries.
The government has also revoked visas from several countries, namely, France, Germany Spain, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Japan and China.
The Union Health Ministry has also strongly urged people to refrain from travelling to China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, Japan, France, Spain and Germany and advised them to avoid non-essential travel abroad in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
(With inputs from agencies)
