The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 43 on Monday with four people, including a three-year-old child in Kerala who had returned from Italy, testing positive for the disease, health ministry officials said on Monday.

Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu reported one case each, officials said.

They added that no deaths have been reported from anywhere in the country.

Giving details, officials said the patient in Jammu, the first case in Jammu and Kashmir, had a travel history to Iran. The one in Delhi had travelled to Italy. And the third patient, from Uttar Pradesh's Meerut town, had come in contact with the six people from Agra who had tested positive for coronavirus.

An estimated 110,041 people from more than 90 countries have tested positive for the disease that has killed 3,825 people.

First case in J&K

A 63-year-old woman tested positive for coronavirus in Srinagar, making her the first confirmed case in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Monday.

The woman, who had a travel history to Iran, was among two patients who were declared 'high viral load cases' by the administration on the weekend.

They are undergoing treatment at the isolation ward of the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital and are in a stable condition, the officials said.

'The test report of the woman patient is positive, while the report of the other patient is still awaited,' a health department official said.

Another woman, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, was admitted in GMC hospital Doda on Sunday and was kept under observation in an isolation ward, the officials said.

Her samples were sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for testing, they added.

After the two patients were declared 'high load viral cases' on Saturday, the administration announced immediate closure of all primary schools in six districts of the Union Territory and suspension of all biometric attendance till March 31 as a precautionary measure.

The two with a travel history to coronavirus-hit Italy, South Korea and Iran had fled the hospital's isolation ward on Wednesday shortly after their admission, but were brought back within hours of the incident.

Their samples were sent to Pune.

Jammu and Kashmir has been put on alert to deal with any threat emerging from coronavirus.

Jammu and Kashmir administration Spokesperson Rohit Kansal said they are watching the situation and have put 400 people under surveillance in Satawari and Sarwal areas of Jammu.

He said Anganwadi centers in these areas have also been closed till March 31.

'Situation under watch; 400 under surveillance in Satawari and Sarwal areas of Jammu. Anganwadi centers in these areas closed till March 31,' Kansal wrote on microblogging site Twitter on Monday.

In two other tweets late Sunday, he said all contacts of a suspected case are being tested and quarantined.

'All contacts of 1 suspected case being tested and quarantined; 400 others under surveillance,' Kansal said.

He said the administration is making two coronavirus testing labs functional in the Union Territory from Monday, while two more are going to start functioning in the next couple of days.

Officials said the first coronavirus testing lab has been set up at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura after necessary training was imparted to the staff. Two more testing labs, one each in GMC Jammu and Srinagar, are likely to start functioning from Wednesday.

Dispelling apprehensions of any major emergency, the Jammu and Kashmir administration said that it was monitoring and reviewing the situation closely and there was no need to panic.

'A total of 287 cases were put under active surveillance. Ninety-five of these completed the surveillance period of 28 days, while 28 samples of suspected cases had been sent for testing so far, of which 25 were reported negative,' the official said.

Listing the measures taken to control and prevent the spread of the virus, the government had said 100 per cent self-declaration protocols were already established at Jammu and Srinagar airports.

'All entrants to Jammu and Kashmir via road are also being monitored at Lakhanpur and Lower Munda respectively. Help desks at railway stations, Jammu and Katra, are also operational,' a government spokesman said.

He said 100 per cent self-declaration and thermal imaging have also been introduced for all pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district.

The government had appealed to the public to cooperate fully wherever quarantine was advised.

Kerala baby tests positive

A three-year old child has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said in Kochi on Monday.

The child and its parents who had reached the Cochin International Airport Limited at 6am on March 7 from Italy were subjected to thermal screening at the universal surveillance system established, officials said.

Detecting symptoms of coronavirus in the child,they were immediately referred to isolation ward of the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital, they said.

The samples of the child sent for examination at the NiV lab at Alappuzha have tested positive for Coronavirus, they said.

The samples of the parents have also been sent for lab test, the officials added.

Five fresh coronavirus cases, including three who evaded screening on return from Italy, were reported in Kerala, prompting the government on Sunday to sound a renewed alert and warn action against those hiding travel history to affected nations.

Protocol required everyone arriving from countries hit by the novel coronavirus to report to the helpdesk. The couple had boarded a connection flight from Doha in Qatar and reached the Kerala airport.

The couple who evaded screening, aged 55 and 53, and their 24-year-old son “left the airport without contacting the coronavirus help centre at the arrival area”, state health minister K.K. Shailaja said in Thiruvananthapuram.

The family, apparently Italy-based NRIs, then travelled 200km to their home in Pathanamthitta, met friends and relatives and dropped in at their parish church. They also visited the police superintendent’s office to apply for security clearance towards the renewal of their son’s Italian residence permit.

Shailaja described their behaviour as “irresponsible” and said the government would “have to treat such behaviour as a major crime”, but added that the first priority was to treat them.

Sensex nosedives 1,500 points

Equity benchmark Sensex plummeted over 1,500 points in opening session on Monday led by deepening rout in global markets amid rapidly-spreading coronavirus and sinking crude prices.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures plunged nearly 30 per cent to USD 32.11 per barrel after top exporter Saudi Arabia launched a price war in response to a failure by leading producers to strike a deal to support energy markets.

Continuing its downward spiral, the 30-share index was plunged 1515.01 points, or 4.03 per cent, to 36,061.61. The NSE Nifty too cracked 417.05 points, or 3.80 per cent, to 10,572.40.

In the previous session, the 30-share BSE barometer settled 893.99 points or 2.32 per cent lower at 37,576.62. Likewise, the Nifty tanked 279.55 points or 2.48 per cent to close at 10,989.45.