The Kerala government on Monday confirmed a third case of coronavirus, this time in Kasargod district in the north of the state. So far, Kerala has recorded all the cases of coronavirus in India. The first two cases, in Thrissur and Alappuzha, were also students who had returned from Wuhan.
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Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja informed the state Assembly the patient was a student who had come from Wuhan. The patient is currently in a isolation ward in a district hospital in Kanjangad and is in stable condition. The minister warned the number of cases could rise.
Giving details about the case, Shailaja said the patient was a medical student in Wuhan. Interestingly, all three cases of coronavirus in Kerala were students from Wuhan University who had returned from China on January 24. The two patients in Thrissur and Alappuzha were seated next to each other on the flight from Wuhan.
Shailaja also informed that the testing of samples for coronavirus had started at the state virology lab in Alappuzha. This is expected to save time instead of sending the samples to Pune.
Shailaja informed regular checks and monitoring was being done and help desks had been set up at all airports in Kerala. Shailaja warned that precautions on the lines taken during the Nipah outbreaks were necessary. She informed those people under observation should not go out without informing the health department.
“Though the incubation period recommended by the Centre is 14 days, Kerala, being a densely populated state, is observing a 28-day incubation period,” the health minister said.
A total of 1,999 people are under observation in Kerala. As many as 75 individuals are in isolation wards of various hospitals across Kerala. Remaining 1,924 people are quarantined at their respective homes. In Alappuzha district alone, 124 people are under observation.
(With inputs from onmanorama)
