India reports second case of coronavirus in Kerala

A health desk is set up to screen travelers for signs of the coronavirus at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala, India, January 31, 2020 - Reuters

MUMBAI (Reuters): A second case of the new coronavirus has been detected in Kerala, the Government said in a news release yesterday, days after the first case was reported in the State last week.

“Second positive case of Novel Coronavirus patient has been reported in Kerala. The patient has a travel history from China,” the Government statement said.

The patient has tested positive for the virus and has been kept in isolation in a hospital. The person is stable and is being closely monitored, the statement said. Last week India reported that a student who had returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, had tested positive and was being treated in isolation.

The new strain of coronavirus, which originated in Hubei province in central China late last year, has so far killed more than 300 people amid more than 14,000 total reported cases. Globally, around 130 cases have been reported. Several countries have put travel bans with airlines cancelling flights to and from China and mass evacuations of citizens amid fears of a major pandemic, which could threaten exports and growth in the world’s second-biggest economy. India evacuated 324 people from Wuhan on Saturday and have kept them under observation in the outskirts of New Delhi, a Government statement said on Saturday.

India’s national carrier, Air India, has cancelled its Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai flight until 14 February.

“Earlier positive case found in Kerala is being monitored and is stable,” the Government said on Saturday.