Five new cases in Kerala, state govt talks tough; Cruise ship turned back as more curbs introduced

The number of coronavirus cases rose to 39 in India on Sunday as five more people tested positive in Kerala, including a couple and their son who had flown from Italy and evaded airport screening, prompting state authorities to warn of action against those hiding travel history, while other states too introduced stricter measures to check the spread of the disease.

As the Centre denied entry to cruise ships till March 31 in the wake of the coronavirus scare, a cruise ship with a Panama flag 'MSC Lirica' was turned back at the New Mangalore Port on Saturday.

After Sikkim, the Arunachal Pradesh government has also decided to temporarily suspend issuing Protected Area Permits (PAPs) to foreigners to check the spread of coronavirus.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government will request the Centre to impose a ban on travelling to countries that have recorded a large number of coronavirus cases.

In Assam at least 400 people have been quarantined after they came in contact with an American tourist who tested positive for the new coronavirus in Bhutan after travelling through the state recently, state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja said the state has been put on high alert in the wake of the five new cases, reported more than a fortnight after India's first three coronavirus patients -medical students from Wuhan- were discharged from hospitals in the state.

The minister said the couple in their fifties and their 24-year old son had taken a flight from Italy to India on February 29 and evaded health screening at the airport. The two others affected are their relatives, Shailaja said.

The new cases are from Ranni in Pathnamthitta district, where all public programmes and religious gatherings have been called off.

The minister said all the passengers who travelled with the infected family in the Venice-Doha Qatar airlines QR 126 flight on February 29 and Qatar Airlines flight QR514 from Doha to Kochi that arrived at 8.20 am on March 1 should get in touch with health authorities.

The airlines, in a statement, said it was working with Indian health authorities in this regard.

An operation has been launched for tracing all passengers on the flight and their secondary contacts and the employees who attended to them on February 29, a Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) statement said
"Strict action, including prosecution, will be initiated against them. Directives of various government agencies should be followed in this regard," a police release said
"Screening process has started and follow up arrangements are being discussed with Iranian authorities. This is top priority and Embassy team @india_in_iran is fully engaged on this."