NEW DELHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Jan 30:
India reported its first case of the Corona virus in Kerala today and the patient has been kept in an isolation ward, the State Health Minister said even as the Government stepped up its efforts to detect and prevent the spread of the virus that has killed at least 170 people and infected more than 7,700 in China.
The Government will also evacuate Indians tomorrow from China’s Wuhan city, the epicentre of the deadly Corona virus, which has spread to at least 17 countries already.
Soon after the confirmed case of the novel Coronavirus (nCoV) was reported in the country, Chinese embassy in New Delhi issued a statement, assuring cooperation to India in jointly strengthening the epidemic prevention and control.
Confirming the first positive case of the Corona virus, Priya Abraham, director of ICMR-NIV in Pune, said 49 samples have been tested till now at the national institute of virology and one sample has tested positive.
“The positive sample belongs to a student from Kerala who was studying in Wuhan. Now, a next test known as ‘next-gen sequencing test’ will be done on her sample and the final result will be declared till tomorrow evening,” Abraham said.
In Thiruvananthapuram, State Health Minister K K Shylaja told reporters that the condition of the patient was stable.
India has taken a number of steps to detect and control the deadly virus, which started from a seafood and wild animal market in Wuhan in Hubei province.
The Cabinet Secretary on Thursday reviewed the country’s preparedness with the concerned Ministries –Health & Family Welfare, External Affairs, Defence, Home Affairs, Civil Aviation, Information & Broadcasting, Labour & Employment, and Shipping to tackle the spread of the virus, an official release said, adding he also did a video conference with the chief secretaries of the states and UTs.
During these meetings, it was decided that all those who have come from China after 15 January will be tested for the exposure to the virus and also the lab facilities will be augmented. While six more labs will start functioning from today, including one in AIIMS in Delhi, six more labs will start function by Friday, the release added.
Apart from putting measures in place to battle the spread at home, the government is also getting ready to evacuate its nationals on Friday from China, which continued to scramble to contain the spread of the deadly virus.
Indian embassy in Beijing in a note circulated through social media on Thursday said that preparations are on to evacuate Indians from the virus-hit region.
“We are preparing for air evacuation from Wuhan tomorrow in the evening. This flight will carry those Indian nationals who are in and around Wuhan and have conveyed consent for their evacuation,” the note said.
“There will be another flight subsequently which will carry those who are from other parts of Hubei province,” it added.
Talking about the evacuation process, external affairs ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar in Delhi said, “We have made a formal request to the government of China for bringing back Indian nationals from Hubei province in two flights. We are awaiting for the necessary approval from the Chinese side. We hope this will be granted soon.”
Kumar said arrangements are being put in place for people to travel to the airport in Wuhan.
“We remain committed to the safety and well-being of our nationals abroad. We appreciate the support extended by the government of China and other ministries in the government of India in putting this process together,” Kumar added.
Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Ji Rong said the mission has maintained close communication with India on the issue by briefing regularly on the nCoV spread and China’s efforts in preventing and controlling it.
“The Chinese side pays close attention to the report of the emergence of one confirmed case of pneumonia caused by the novel Corona virus in India, and will cooperate with the Indian side to jointly strengthen the epidemic prevention and control,” Ji said.
The Chinese Government attaches great importance to safeguarding the safety and health of every foreign national in China, including the Indian people, Ji said.(PTI)
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