Coronavirus: Kerala strengthens vigilance as 6 test positive, one escapes from hospital
Synopsis
Kerala strengthens surveillance after 6 test positive for COVID-19, said state health minister. Meanwhile, two tested positive in Maharashtra for coronavirus, taking the total number of cases in India to 44.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala health minister KK Shailaja on Monday said that the administration has strengthened surveillance after six persons tested positive for coronavirus.
"We have strengthened the surveillance after 6 positive cases since yesterday. In the state, we have 1116 persons under observation out of whom 976 persons are under home quarantine while 149 persons are in hospitals. This includes people with symptoms as well," Shailaja told reporters here.
"In Pathanamthitta, we began the contact tracing at around 6 am. 270 persons are under the primary contact of positive patients. The number of high-risk contacts are 95. 6 people have come to hospitals in Pathanamthitta. The number of secondary contacts is 449," she added.
Contact tracing of persons in Kerala who may have come in touch with those found positive for COVID-19 is being done aggressively to contain the spread of the disease as six people, including one from Ernakulam and five from Pathanamthitta, found to be diagnosed with the deadly virus.
A 3-year-old boy, who had travelled to Italy with his parents and returned to Kerala, and tested positive, is being monitored and is under treatment at the Ernakulam Medical college. Five cases were reported from the Pathanamthitta district in Kerala on Sunday. Three cases from Kerala reported in January have been discharged.
Meanwhile, a suspected coronavirus patient ran away from the hospital in Pathanamthitta. He was admitted in Pathanamthitta General Hospital Isolation ward.
Alert is sounded in Pathanamthitta to locate the person who escaped from the hospital.
In Maharashtra, two people from Pune, who had returned from Dubai recently and are related to each other, on Monday became first cases to test positive for novel coronavirus infection, a civic health department official said.
Samples of a man and a woman having history of travelling to Dubai tested positive on Monday evening, said Dr Ramchandra Hankare, Chief Health Officer, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
Both of them are currently admitted at the civic-run Naidu Hospital, he added.
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