India's first coronavirus patient discharged from Kerala hospital

KERALA: India's first novel coronavirus patient after being treated at the Government Medical College hospital was discharged today. Medical Board took the decision to discharge the woman from the hospital after her samples had tested negative for the second time.

The woman after returning from Wuhan was put in isolation and undergoing treatment.

Two other students infected with coronavirus, one from Alappuzha and another Kasaragod had been discharged recently after they too tested negative for the virus in fresh tests.

All of the three Keralites had earlier tested positive for the coronavirus on their return from Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly outbreak in China, triggering a scare in the state.

On Wednesday the Health Minister K. K. Shailaja had said in a release, "The health condition of the third patient at Thrissur Medical College Hospital is highly satisfactory. The second consecutive test result of the blood sample of the student, sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, has returned negative.”

The health department has also said a total of 2,242 people are under observation across the state, out of which, 8 are in isolation wards in various hospitals and rest under home quarantine.

Earlier, after the 3 students were tested positive, the government had declared the novel virus as a state disaster but withdrew it right after effective quarantine and no new cases being reported.

According to WHO, Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.

“Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans,” stated WHO.

Most common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing, said WHO.

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