Thiruvananthapuram: The first confirmed case of novel Coronavirus (nCov) in India has been reported from Kerala.
The Union Health Ministry confirmed the positive case on Thursday.
The person who had tested positive in the preliminary test was one of the four Malayali medical students who had returned from China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus attack, and had been isolated in Thrissur General Hospital. All the four medicos from Wuhan University had reported to the hospital with a sore throat. The results of the other three are yet to come.
“The preliminary test result has been returned positive. It will confirmed only after the Gene Sequencing test. The patient's condition is stable and does not show severe symptoms,” Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said.
The student came back to Kerala before the travel restrictions were in place. The student has been under observation since then.
The health ministry officials have now begun contact tracing of the patient. This involves tracing whoever the student was in touch after she came back to Kerala. Once identified, they would be counselled and home quarantined. If needed, they would be isolated in the hospital.
It has also been decided to shift the student who had been tested positive to the Thrissur Medical College for better supervision and expert care. The minister and the principal health secretary, after a meeting of the Rapid Response Force, would soon rush to Thrissur.
The minister said self-reporting of those who returned from China is of paramount importance. “The virus can spread in the body even without showing any symptoms. So it is important that anyone who had returned from China should report to the Health Department. At least they should inform the nearest medical officer. Some like the students in isolation in Thrissur have voluntarily reported but others have not. It were certain suspicions that led health officials to them. We don't want a situation where a case goes unreported in Kerala,” the health minister said. she said.
Minister said four other students, who came with the infected student, have also been kept in isolation ward.
She said the government is trying to get the number of Kerala medical students in nCov-infected Wuhan province. "We are trying to get the exact number of medical students with the help of centre," she said.
As many as 20 samples from Kerala have been sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune and 10 of them returned negative.
"We are yet to get the remaining test results," she said.
Prior to the press conference, the minister convened an emergency meeting of health officials at Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there is no need to panic, but urged people to be cautious. "People who came back from China should appear for screening test. It is important to check the spread of the disease. The health department is equipped to tackle the situation," he said.
The centre has informed the states that 2,500 Indians are waiting to return from China.
In Kerala, out of 806 people under observation, 10 are in isolation wards in hospitals, while the rest are in home quarantine.
The Minister said instructions have been given to all state-run hospitals to see that proper steps are taken to face any eventuality. Contact numbers and details of such facilities could be had by calling 0471-2552056.
Wuhan city of China witnessed an outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus last month. Since then the death toll in China from the new coronavirus has risen to 170 with 7,711 confirmed cases, as repatriation flights for foreign nationals continued.
Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from common cold to acute respiratory syndromes.
Outside China, Hong Kong and Macau, other countries with confirmed cases include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Canada, the United States, United Arab Emirates, Australia (two new cases reported on Thursday), France and Germany.
Finland reported its first case on Wednesday. Several cases in Taiwan were also included in the national count.
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