Pune: In the light of World Health Organisation's (WHO) definition on what constitutes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Maharashtra government on May 3 decided to release all the quarantined persons and declare them SARS-free.

A decision to this effect was announced at a press conference by state Health Minister Digvijay Khanvilkar and director general of health Subhash Salunke after a high-power committee meeting of experts at the BJ Medical College.

"Even Stanley D'silva, his sister Julie and his mother Vimla had tested positive for corona virus but were declared as SARS-affected. They were only infected people and not SARS-affected," Khanvilkar said.

According to WHO, a person infected with corona virus will not infect others unless he starts manifesting the SARS symptoms, which include cough, sneezing, acute difficulty in breathing etc.

Fortunately in Maharashtra, none of the persons who tested positive for corona virus showed these symptoms, he added.

Now, barring one person, who returned from China on April 26 and is admitted in Sassoon Hospital special ward, all the other quarantined persons, numbering over 100, are being discharged.

PTI