A total of 1,804 passengers have been screened for novel coronavirus at Amritsar and Mohali airports as well as border check posts of Atari and Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab, Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said.

He said no symptomatic or suspected case of coronavirus has been reported out of these passengers.

Sidhu said the government of India on Friday issued the guidelines that all passengers coming from China after January 15 will be screened and tested.

He said all the passengers coming from China to Punjab after January 15 are being contacted and samples are being taken. Twenty-three samples will be sent for testing at the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

He said 33 passengers with travel history to China had reported in the state, out of which two samples of suspected patients have been tested negative and eight passengers have completed 14 days observation period and the remaining 23 passengers are under regular observation of the Department of Health.

Symptoms of Coronavirus: The virus can cause pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs as well as fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system. Many of those who have died were already in poor health.