Kochi/Mumbai: Ten people--seven in Kerala, two in Mumbai and one in Hyderabad--who were among the hundreds of passengers whoreturned from China in the recent days are under observation in hospitals to check for possible exposure to the deadly novel coronavirus, Central and State officials said on Friday. Officials in Kerala said another 73 people were being kept under medical surveillance at their homes in the State. As over 20,000 passengers returning from mainland China and Hong Kong underwent thermal screenings at the seven international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) in Delhi has set up an isolation ward and kept beds ready for providing treatment to any suspected case of the respiratory infection.
According to Kerala state health ministry officials in Thiruvananthapuram, seven people who had shown mild symptoms of fever, cough and sore throat are under watch in state-run hospitals in different districts in the state. Among them, two of them are in Kochi, while one each is in observation in the state capital, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Pathanamthitta. The state government has advised those under home surveillance to remain at home for 28 days from the date of their departure from China. The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes, but the virus in China is a novel strain and not seen before. It has killed 26 people so far, and has caused alarm because of its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). According to a union health ministry official, two persons who returned from China have been kept under observation at a Mumbai hospital while one person has been placed under watch at a hospital in Hyderabad. However, no positive case has been detected in the country so far, he said. The official said a total of 20,844 passengers who travelled in 96 flights from China have been screened at the airports till January 24. Also, on the basis of the details provided by the Indian Embassy in China, around 25 students who have returned to India recently from Wuhan are being closely monitored, the official said. Their details have been shared with district-level officers and they are being monitored closely for any symptoms.
No Goan will be affected due to CAA says CM Two people who returned to Mumbai from China have been kept in an isolation ward at Kasturba Hospital, and their blood samples collected to check for the new strain of coronavirus, officials said in Mumbai.