Coronavirus: 2 patients recover fully in Kerala, death toll crosses 1000 in China

Coronavirus: 15 Kerala students stranded in China's Hubei reach Kochi
Medical staff, wearing protective suits, hold medical waste as they exit the Special Isolation Ward set up to provide treatment to novel coronavirus patients at Kochi Medical college, in Kerala. Photo: PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: The final test results of the two coronavirus patients from Thrissur and Alappuzha districts of Kerala has come out negative, health officials confirmed on Monday. Though the first patient has recovered completely her sample has been sent for testing again. The patient will be permitted to leave the hospital if the test result is negative.

The coronavirus patient in Alappuzha will be permitted to leave the hospital once the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune confirms the observation of the health department.

The test results of the 15 students who returned to Kerala from China's Kunming has also come out 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Though the 'state calamity' alert was withdrawn, the state has not lowered its guard and the (28-day) quarantine period would continue, she said.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.

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.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that India is equipped to face the coronavirus threat and that the virus spread in Kerala has been contained.

Death toll crosses 1000 in China

The death toll in China due to the novel coronavirus epidemic has crossed 1,000, while the confirmed cases have gone over 42,000, health officials announced on Tuesday.

As many as 108 deaths were reported on Monday and 2,478 new cases of the lethal disease were confirmed, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

The death toll due to nCoV rose to 1,016 and the confirmed cases have gone up to 42,638, according to the commission.

Among the deaths, 103 were in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, and one each in Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Anhui and Henan, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the commission as saying.

A total of 3,996 patients infected with the coronavirus have been discharged from hospital till Monday after recovery, it said.

On Monday, 3,536 new suspected cases were reported and 849 patients became seriously ill, while 716 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, the commission said.

As many as 7,333 patients remained in severe condition and 21,675 people are suspected of being infected with the virus. Over 4.28 lakh close contacts had been traced and more than 1.87 lakh others are still under medical observation, according to the commission.

By the end of Monday, 42 confirmed cases, including one death, have been reported in in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in Macao and 18 in Taiwan.

A team of international experts led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) arrived in China on Monday night to assist the Chinese health officials in containing the coronavirus outbreak.

China and the WHO will form a joint expert team to conduct in-depth discussions on and evaluations of the novel coronavirus epidemic and the containment, a National Health Commission spokesperson said.

Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes. The novel coronavirus (nCoV) started in Hubei province of China and has since spread to several countries. Outside China, Hong Kong and Macau, the disease has spread to 28 other countries in the world.

(With inputs from PTI.)

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