One of the new cases was detected in the capital, New Delhi, while the other was in the southern state of Telangana, the government said in a statement.

The New Delhi patient had been in Italy and the one in Telangana had visited Dubai, the government said; both were stable and being closely monitored.

“The government is monitoring the situation at the highest-level,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told a briefing in New Delhi.

Authorities were screening travellers arriving from 12 countries, Vardhan said, adding that more than 1 million people had been screened on the border with Nepal.

Virus-hit Japan begins to feel bite of Chinese tourists’ outbreak absence

In Jaipur, the hospital official said that at least 15 doctors, staff and patients who may have come into contact with the Italian patient would be tested.

Indian shares sank sharply on the news, ending lower for the seventh straight session. The NSE Nifty 50 index erased gains of up to 2 per cent to close 0.62 per cent lower. The rupee was 0.07 per cent weaker at 72.4300 against the dollar.

The government has advised Indians to refrain from non-essential travel to the worst affected countries, including China, South Korea, Iran and Italy.

Meanwhile, the three other patients who had tested positive for coronavirus in India have all been discharged from hospital, and were in quarantine in their homes, the government in Kerala state said last week.

All three had returned from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicentre of the outbreak.