Thiruvananthapuram: A Keralite student from Wuhan university, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, was on Thursday discharged from the isolation ward of the Alappuzha Medical college hospital, health department sources said. He was the second person to test positive for the flu-like virus in the country.
Kerala reported all three confirmed coronavirus cases in India so far. The first case was reported from Thrissur in Kerala with a woman medical student from Wuhan testing positive. The third case was reported from Kasaragod.
The youth was discharged after his two consecutive samples sent for testing at the National Instiute of Virology, Pune, turned out negative.
"On the basis of the two consecutive negative results, the patient has been discharged. He will be in home quarantine for the remining 14 days," officials informed.
The youth had returned to Kerala on January 24. His samples had tested positive for the virus on February 2.
The final test results of the coronavirus patient from Thrissur too had come negative on Monday. Asked about her discharge, the sources said they were awaiting consecutive negative results from NIV, Pune of her samples, only after which the girl will be discharged.
The patient will be permitted to leave the hospital if the test result is negative.
3367 individuals are under observation in the state, Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja informed. Out of the 364 samples sent for testing, 337 have been tested negative.
The health condition of the individuals under observation in the hospital remain satisfactory, the minister said.
Though the 'state calamity' alert was withdrawn, the state has not lowered its guard and the (28-day) quarantine period would continue, she said.
Though the incubation period recommended by the centre is 14 days, Kerala being a densely populated state is observing a 28 day incubation period.
645 Indians evacuated from Wuhan test negative
The 645 Indians evacuated from the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city have all tested negative for the virus and discharge guidelines are being issued, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.
After evacuation, the people are presently undergoing quarantine at special facilities created by Indian Army in Manesar and by Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Chawla Camp. 10 of the evacuees who were symptomatic have been shifted to isolation. All of them have tested negative for this disease and are stable. All other evacuees are being medically examined on daily basis and are healthy, the minister said.
"All the states have been informed about the guidelines and precautionary measures to be taken," Vardhan added.
Prime Minister praises Wuhan Rescue Operation
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has appreciated the high level commitment to duty showcased by the officials of Air India and Ministry of Health who conducted evacuation operation of the stranded Indians in Wuhan.
The Prime Minister has issued a letter of appreciation to the team members of the evacuation operations. This letter would be handed over to the crew by Minister of State for Civil Aviation.
Air India had conducted an emergency evacuation operations from the Wuhan city, which is the epicenter of the widely spreading Novel Corona Virus Flu.
Despite being aware of the aforementioned severe situation in the region, the Air India sent two B-747 aircraft with teams of Air India as well as teams from Ministry of Health for two consecutive days, i.e. 31st January 2020 and on 1st February 2020, returning the next day.
Air India has done similar evacuations earlier also from countries such as Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait and Nepal.
Coronavirus
Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes.
The novel coronavirus started in Hubei province of China and has since spread to several countries.
On Wednesday, health officials in Hubei province said 242 more people had died from the flu-like virus, the fastest rise in the daily count since the pathogen was identified in December, and bringing the total number of deaths in the province to 1,310.
The grim new tally came a day after China had reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in two weeks, bolstering a forecast by the country's senior medical adviser that the epidemic could end by April.
But the 2,015 new confirmed cases reported in mainland China on Wednesday were dwarfed by the 14,840 new cases reported in Hubei alone on Thursday, after provincial officials started using computerised tomography (CT) scans to look for infections.
Outside China, Hong Kong and Macau, other countries with confirmed cases include Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Canada, the United States, United Arab Emirates, Australia, France and Germany.
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(With inputs from PTI)