NEW DELHI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- As many as 25 new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in India since Tuesday, said the country's Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday.

Addressing to the media in New Delhi, the minister said the new cases included 16 Italian nationals and one Indian driver who accompanied them on a tour.

All the Italian nationals found suffering from COVID-19 have been shifted to a camp set up in Delhi.

"They wanted to go back to their home country, but they were refused to travel by the Italian government and asked to stay back in India. So we have kept them in isolation in a special camp set up in Delhi," said the health minister.

He said the first three positive cases found in the southern state of Kerala had been successfully treated. "If they are added too, we can say that the total number of positive COVID-19 cases found in India till date is 28."

The minister told the media after concluding an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation.

Meanwhile, At least 79 people have tested positive for swine flu in Meerut district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, health officials said on Wednesday.

"A total of 79 positive cases of swine flu have been detected here," said Dr. Rajkumar, chief medical officer in Meerut. "In the eight deaths that are attributed to swine flu, we have constituted a team that will audit the deaths to ascertain the actual cause."

According to Rajkumar, of the 79 cases, 20 are policemen from Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and all of them have been quarantined and are taking medicine.

Last month at least six judges at India's Supreme Court did not attend the court after being found infected with swine flu.

Prior to that, a software company temporarily closed down its offices as a precautionary measure after two of its employees tested positive for H1N1 virus at its Bengaluru office.

Following the detection the software company offices in Bengaluru, Gurugram and Mumbai have been closed for extensive sanitization and fumigation.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by a strain of the influenza type A virus, H1N1.