Student who tested positive for virus recovering: Kerala minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The country’s first coronavirus-infected patient, a medical student who returned to India from China last week, is recovering fast, the state health ministry said. No fresh cases have been reported from the state as well.

Admitted to an isolation ward in Thrissur Government Medical College on Thursday, the woman is responding well to treatment, according to a medical bulletin.

At least 1,600 people in the state are under observation and 30 admitted across various hospitals. Health authorities have tracked 58 people who had been in direct contact with the infected woman, and put them under surveillance.

Officials said they have also alerted the Kolkata airport, where she first landed on December 23 before taking a flight to Kochi.

Her relatives said she left China’s Wuhan city, the epicentre of the Coronavirus, after its airport was shut, and travelled to Kunming, the nearest city, and took a China Eastern Airlines flight to Kolkata. Once there, she took a flight to Kochi, after a fourhour wait.

Four other students who travelled with her are also under observation.

“We are keeping an utmost vigil. Even people who are under observation at their homes have been advised not to interact with another family frequently. We have formulated an isolation guideline and imparted enough training to health officials. At least 61 isolation wards are ready in the state,” said state health minister KK Shailaja who is camping in Thrissur.