SRINAGAR: Health officials in Kashmir on Wednesday said there was no positive case of novel coronavirus detected in the valley so far, urging the public not to panic but exercise caution to prevent spread of the disease that has been declared a global pandemic.
"We have tested 41 samples here and 40 of them have come out as negative. There has been no positive case reported from the valley till date," Director, SKIMS Hospital Soura, A G Ahangar told reporters.
The result of one suspect is awaited, he added.
There was no need to panic or be scared about the novel coronavirus but people should follow the advisories issued by the authorities from time to time, he pointed out.
"Let us be safe, let us be wise and let us ensure that we help others to live as we live," he said.
Eighty-one passengers of an Air India Leh-Srinagar flight were quarantined on their arrival here on Wednesday, officials said.
The flight was then diverted back to Leh where it dropped the remaining 25 passengers, they said.
"A Srinagar-bound Air India flight was returned this morning. Eighty-one passengers have been quarantined in Srinagar, while 25 were de-boarded in Leh," Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary said.
The officer said all passengers arriving from Leh at Srinagar airport will have to undergo mandatory quarantine.