Coronavirus: The family underwent screening at the Kochi airport soon after they landed.
Highlights
- Kerala family underwent thermal screening at Kochi airport
- Family in quarantine at a hospital, child undergoing treatment
- India among 14 nations on Qatar's travel ban list over coronavirus fears
Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus in India:
The samples of the Kerala child tested positive after they were sent for examination at the National Institute of Virology lab in Alappuzha district. The samples of the parents have also been sent for lab tests, officials said. The child, who is under observation and is undergoing treatment at the hospital, is stable, officials added. This is the sixth active case of coronavirus in Kerala. Three of the first cases reported from the state in January were discharged last month.
The Jammu woman, who had travelled to Iran, was among two patients who were declared "high viral load cases" by the administration during the weekend. They are undergoing treatment at the isolation ward of the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital and are in a stable condition, officials said.
On Sunday, five of a family in Kerala tested positive for coronavirus. The state health minister said three of the affected persons returned from Italy and did not declare it at the airport, which is why they were not screened. A couple and their 26-year-old son, who had visited Italy, visited their relatives on return, Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said. All five are in hospital under observation. The parents of the couple, who are in their 90s and lived with them, have been hospitalised as preventive measure, sources said.
Kindergarten classes in Bengaluru have been closed as a precautionary measure because of the coronavirus cases in the neighbouring states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
In Tamil Nadu, a 45-year-old man tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday. Authorities called it a challenging case as the test reports from Chennai were unclear and confirmation only came from the second test at the National Institute of Virology in Pune where the virus was confirmed.
The government has decided not to let any foreign cruise ship to dock at Indian ports, news agency ANI reported.
Last week, 16 Italian tourists - part of a group of 23 - were tested positive for the virus and are being treated in Jaipur and Delhi.
The government had suspended visas and e-visas granted on or before March 3 to people travelling from Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan, effective immediately, after a surge in cases of coronavirus or COVID-19 in these countries.
As many as 52 laboratories are now operational across the country for testing COVID-19 virus, the health ministry said. An additional 57 laboratories have been provided with Viral Transport Media and swabs for sample collection, it added.
The novel coronavirus spreads through contact with respiratory droplets spread during coughing and sneezing, doctors say. Besides keeping contact to a minimum with an infected person, the preventive measures include frequent washing of hands and use of hand sanitisers. Fresh tissues should be used while sneezing and coughing and then discarded, to ensure the virus does not spread.
