Coronavirus in India: Five new cases of COVID-19 in Kerala, total confirmed cases in India now 39
coronavirus in India
In fresh coronavirus cases in Kerala, five people in Kerala have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 39, according to media reports.
Yesterday two people in the Union Territory of Ladakh and one person in the state of Tamil Nadu are the latest to have contracted the virus.
The two patients in Ladakh have a travel history to Iran and the one in Tamil Nadu had recently travelled to the west Asian nation of Oman.
Ladakh and Tamil Nadu are at the northernmost and southernmost tip of India. This shows the geographic extent to which the virus has now spread in India.
The cases include 16 foreign nationals and 3 students in Kerala who have already been cured. Prime minister Narendra Modi today held a meeting with the health officials to review the current situation.
The Indian health authorities have stepped up measures to control the spread of the virus.
The government has issued a fresh travel advisory for its citizens. People have been advised to refrain from travelling to China, Iran, South Korea, Italy and Japan.
All international passengers entering into India are required to furnish a declaration form to health and immigration officials. They are also required to undergo universal health screening at the designated health counters.
Thermal screening is already in place at 21 airports and over 70 seaports.
At the airport in national capital Delhi, there is also a proposal to have a separate conveyor belt for baggage coming from the impacted countries.
The union health ministry has now made 52 labs functional for testing the samples. While 57 labs have been designated for helping in sample collection for diagnosis and detection of the virus.
The daily beating retreat ceremony at India Pakistan's Attari-Wagah border has been indefinitely suspended.
In the southern state of Karnataka, biometric attendance has been temporarily suspended in government offices to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. While in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir 2 suspect cases have increased the fears.
Given this, all schools up to the primary level have been shut in 4 districts of Jammu and Kashmir till march 31.In a unique bid to raise awareness about the virus. The central government is reaching out to people through caller tunes on their phones.
The specially made caller tunes carry preventive messages for people... Like washing hands at regular intervals and maintain distance from those with symptoms.