Coronavirus scare: Kerala has put 75 people in isolation wards

ALAPPUZHA/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On a day when a second case of coronavirus was confirmed in the state, Kerala health minister KK Shailaja sought to allay fears, saying neither of the two patients had developed any serious complications.
“There is nothing to panic but we need to be vigilant. The department is strictly monitoring the situation so that the virus does not spread from them,” Shailaja said.
The state health department received the test result of the infected person from National Institute of Virology, Pune, on Sunday.It has put 1,924 people under observation at their homes and 75 have been admitted to isolation wards in various hospitals. Till now, 104 samples of suspected cases have been sent for tests. Of these, 36 results have been received and two tested positive. In Alappuzha, four persons have also been admitted to the general hospital.
All those coming from China are under health department surveillance. The Union health ministry and the India Council of Medical Research have permitted the Kerala unit of National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha to conduct tests for coronavirus. “Though we have facilities, we were not supposed to conduct the tests. There was a delay in getting test results from Pune NIV,” Shailaja said.
Wuhan in China is the ground zero of the virus outbreak which had infected over 14,500 people and led to 305 deaths till Sunday. Despite measures to contain the outbreak, including the Chinese government locking down Wuhan and adjoining cities in Hubei province, the virus continues to spread rapidly. Apart from China, the virus has been detected in at least 21 countries, including India. Amid mounting fear of a wider spread, the Union health ministry has asked hospitals across all states and UTs to prepare isolation wards.