India confirms its first coronavirus case
India has reported its first case of novel coronavirus in Kerala, where a woman studying in China’s Wuhan University has tested positive for the deadly virus. The patient has been kept in an isolation ward at the general hospital in Thrissur and her condition is stable, according to an official release.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state government was closely monitoring the situation. “While we need to be cautious, it is no cause for panic. Our health network is capable of handling any emergencies. People should avoid spreading the news that is intimidating,” he said.
Novel coronavirus (2019 -ncov) is a virus identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan. The death toll from the virus has risen to 170, and the majority of the victims are from China.
According to Kerala officials, the state government has asked people arriving from China to “voluntarily report” to the health department for screening for the virus, and it was during such screening that the patient was detected with coronavirus symptoms.
Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja has called a meeting with the health secretary and other officials from the Directorate of Health Services to take stock of the situation.
She told reporters that the central health department confirmed the infection in one of the four people who had come back from Wuhan and were under observation in isolation wards in the Thrissur hospital. “Already we are vigilant. Now with this information we need to take care of things more,” she said.
The state government has created isolation wards in one medical college and another major hospital in each district and has been keeping those who were suspected to have contracted the virus.