Kerala successful in containing Coronavirus, says KK Shailaja

Kerala has been successful in containing the spread of coronavirus, said Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja on Friday.

"We can say that we have succeeded in the first part which is containing the virus. 3 students who were found to be corona-positive were isolated, now they are stable. They were cured. From contact tracing to isolation and treatment, we have done everything in a systematic manner," said Shailaja.

"Even we wanted to declare that the corona fear is over, but we cannot do. A total of 3,500 people were in quarantine. When they completed 28 days of quarantine, we released them from home quarantine. Now 135 people are under home quarantine", she added.

The Minister also reiterated that the government has decided to strengthen precautions after the WHO report that corona is spreading to more countries.

Shailaja said: "We are monitoring passengers from other countries for possible symptoms. One person from Malaysia came to Ernakulam airport. He had symptoms like sore throat, fever. We can't say that it is coronavirus but we have kept the person in the isolation ward. Samples were sent to Virology Institute. I think his result will come tomorrow."

Coronavirus has spread to more than 45 other countries including the US, UK, Singapore, Italy, France, Russia, Spain, and India.

The global death toll is over 2,800, and China, where the outbreak originated, is the worst hit, with more than 78,000 cases and over 2,700 fatalities.

The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak an international health emergency and said the global risk level remains high.