In fresh coronavirus positive cases, five members of a family in the southern Indian state of Kerala have been found infected, taking the total number in India to 39.

The family had recently visited Italy which reported the most cases of coronavirus in Europe, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said the family did not share their travel history at the airport and were not screened. "They also refused to be hospitalised initially and we had to persuade them," she said.

Among the five people who tested positive is a child, Shailaja said.

"The child and the parents had recently travelled to Italy. After returning, they met some relatives. It was the relatives who approached a hospital with symptoms and they were isolated. The family which travelled to Italy was also isolated later," the minister added.