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The total number of known coronavirus cases in India rose sharply to 29 on Wednesday, including 16 Italian tourists who had tested positive for the disease as well as an employee of a digital payments company who had travelled to Italy.
On Monday, the world's second-most populous country had only six reported cases of coronavirus, but it is one of the places being monitored closely due to fears over how it would cope with a widespread outbreak.
Authorities have stepped up screenings at airports and border crossings and urged citizens to avoid large crowds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would not attend celebrations for the Holi festival, scheduled to be held across the country next week.
"Experts across the world have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the (virus) spread," Mr Modi said in a tweet on Wednesday. "Hence, this year I have decided not to participate."
An employee of Paytm - an Indian payments company - who had vacationed in Italy and is based in Gurugram near New Delhi tested positive for the coronavirus, a Paytm spokesperson said on Wednesday. "We have also advised all our colleagues to work from home for a couple of days while we get our offices sanitised," the spokesperson said.
Paytm has six offices around New Delhi, employing more than 3,000 people.
Another infection was confirmed in the southern state of Telangana, reportedly a software engineer who arrived from Dubai, where he met fellow technicians from Hong Kong.
An Italian visiting the western desert state of Rajasthan was among those who tested positive earlier. On Wednesday, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said 15 of 21 tourists from Italy - Europe's worst-affected country - who had been taken to a quarantine facility on the outskirts of New Delhi had tested positive for the virus. Their Indian driver was also placed in quarantine.
India confirmed three cases in late January and early February, all of whom arrived from China and who have since recovered. Indian stock markets slid nearly 2 per cent after the government disclosed the rise in cases, before paring losses late in the day.
Mr Vardhan said authorities were taking extra precautions against the spread of the virus after the sharp rise in cases - passengers on all international flights would be screened.
Visitors from Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan - except diplomats and officials from international organisations - were barred on Tuesday along with those from China last month.
Ms Gagandeep Kang, a leading infectious diseases expert, said that India's actions until now have been "entirely appropriate". "But it is also a limited strategy. Maybe it's time to think about whether we should be doing more than this," she told AFP.
Mr Modi tweeted on Tuesday that he held an "extensive review regarding preparedness" for the virus and that different ministries and states were "working together".
"There is no need to panic. We need to work together, take small yet important measures to ensure self-protection," the Prime Minister said.
Reuters, AFP
"Experts across the world have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the (virus) spread. Hence, this year I have decided not to participate."
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on not attending celebrations for the Holi festival next week
