Kerala on high alert after 5 fresh cases
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Five people of a family, including three who recently came back from Italy, tested positive for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Kerala, prompting authorities to put the state on high alert, health minister KK Shailaja said on Sunday.
Three of the five people in Pathanamthitta district had returned from Italy last month and two other relatives were infected after they came into contact with them.
Shailaja said that all the five infected patients have been kept at an isolation ward in the Pathanamthitta general hospital and their condition is stable.
They were admitted to the hospital on Friday when they complained of fever and throat infection and tested positive at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Alappuzha, which has been designated as the state nodal laboratory for testing Covid-19 cases.
Their samples were sent to the NIV in Pune and the institute confirmed their positive status late Sunday evening.
The minister said that three persons had failed to inform health officials about their return from Italy and warned people of stern action if they hide their travel history.
Two other elderly family members of the five infected patients show symptoms of the disease, and have been shifted to the Kottayam Medical College hospital as a precaution, Shailaja said. Older people and those with preexisting health conditions are more at risk of developing serious illness from the virus.
“The situation is under control. We have started tracing their contacts,” said PB Nooh Pathanamthitta’s collector .
Health officials said the three had returned to Kochi from Italy via Doha, Qatar, on February 29.
Officials at the international airport in Kochi said 350 people had travelled on the Doha-Cochin QR 514 flight on that day and they had handed over their details to health authorities.
Thermal checking was done at the airport and they did not show any symptoms then, they added.
The government has asked all the people who travelled with them to report to the nearest hospitals and at least 75 of them were quarantined in their homes.
Officials in Pathanamthitta have said all public functions will be cancelled in view of the latest developments.
At least 25 rapid action teams have been formed and doctors from neighbouring districts are called to help contain the spread of the virus.
Nooh has requested people to cooperate with the government to stop the infection from spreading.