MONKEYPOX: DELHI, KERALA LOG NEW CASES

A 35-year-old man of African origin with no recent history of foreign travel has tested positive for monkeypox in Delhi, making it the country’s eighth case of the infection and the city’s third. The man was admitted to the LNJP Hospital on Monday, officials said on Tuesday, adding that his condition is stable. Two suspected cases are also currently admitted at the LNJP Hospital’s monkeypox isolation ward. “We are on alert and closely monitoring the situation,” officials said.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s first monkeypox patient was discharged from the LNJP Hospital on Monday night. The 34-year-old man, a resident of West Delhi, had tested positive last month. Fourteen of his contacts, including the doctor who first treated him, were quarantined but none of them developed symptoms.

A 30-year-old man, who came to Kerala from UAE last month, has tested positive for monkeypox, making him the fifth case of the virus from the southern state.

Kerala health minister Veena George on Tuesday said the man had arrived at the Calicut airport on July 27 and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Malappuram district.

“His condition is stable. Those who were in close contact with him, including his parents, are being closely monitored. It is the fifth case of monkeypox reported in the state,” she said. The first patient was discharged and the condition of others was stable, the minister added.

Meanwhile, preparing for the latest public health challenge, the Delhi government has set up 70 isolation rooms in six hospitals, including three private hospitals across the national capital.