Kerala confirms one case of Coronavirus, informs the health ministry. The novel patient is a Keralite student studying in Wuhan University in China.
The patient was tested positive and is in isolation in the hospital. The Press Information Bureau says that the patient, however, is stable and is being closely monitored.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Coronaviruses (CoV) are a "large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans."
According to the BBC, the Chinese health authorities have confirmed at least 7,711 cases of Coronavirus in China. Infections have also spread to at least 15 other countries.
As a preventive measure against the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has been conducting thermal health screening of passengers, arriving from China including Hong Kong, in seven airports in India.
These airports include -- Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata respectively. All the seven identified airports have virus screening and prevention signage displayed boldly at the strategic locations.
