Thiruvananthapuram: The latest test results of India's first coronavirus patient in Kerala's Thrissur district reveal that she has completely recovered from the illness.
The Kerala government on Sunday announced the test results of the medical student from Wuhan who had tested positive for coronoavirus on January 30. The patient was tested negative in the fifth sample sent for testing.
The results of another sample sent for testing on February 8 is yet to arrive. If tested negative, the patient who is currently in the isolation ward of the Government Medical College Hospital in Mulankunnathukavu region of Thrissur district, will be permitted to leave the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government confirmed that over 3,000 people are still under observation in the state. The government has withdrawn the 'state calamity' warning in the wake of the novel coronavirus (nCov) scare.
Of the 3,114 people under watch, 3,099 are under home quarantine and 45 in hospitals as they had minor symptoms of the virus, state health minister KK Shailaja said.
"Till now, 330 samples have been sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, of which 288 turned out to be negative. We are waiting for the rest of the results," the minister told reporters.
Though the 'state calamity' alert was withdrawn, the state has not lowered its guard and the (28-day) quarantine period would continue, she said.
The Kerala government had on Friday withdrawn the 'state calamity' warning, saying no new positive cases of infection had been detected over the last few days.
The Minister also said that two of the 72 people who had returned to the state from Wuhan, were from Tamil Nadu.
"Those who come from the affected areas will still have to report to health officials and remain home quarantined," Shailaja said.
The state had on February 3 declared the novel coronavirus epidemic as a "state calamity" after a third student tested positive for the infection.
India's all three positive coronavirus cases-- reported from Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kasaragod districts-- are Keralite students, two of them medicos, of a university at Wuhan, the epicentre of the nCoV. The patients in Alappuzha and Kasaragod are yet test negative.
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, including three positive cases in India, all in the southern state of Kerala.
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.
Though the incubation period recommended by the centre is 14 days, Kerala being a densely populated state is observing a 28 day incubation period.
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(With inputs from PTI)
