With First Confirmed Coronavirus Case In India, Centre Says Making All Efforts To Diagnose, Treat Positive Cases

With the first case of Coronavirus being confirmed in Kerala, the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Singh on Thursday (30 January) said that the Centre is trying hard to diagnose and treat the disease, reports ANI.

“Even before the first confirmed case we were doing our best to ensure diagnosis and then to treat if any positive cases of Coronavirus arise,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was quoted in the report as saying.

He added that the detection of the patient who tested positive for novel Coronavirus was made possible due to the measures being taken by the government.

"We are taking many measures, including screening of passengers at more than 20 airports, especially those who are coming in with a travel history of China. That is how we could trace this patient," he said.

The minister said that an official release of the information related to the first confirmed case of the disease in India will follow soon.

Earlier on Thursday (30 December), the first confirmed case of the Coronavirus was reported from Kerala.

According to the report, the patient, a student at Wuhan University in China, is stable and is being closely monitored by a team of doctors in an isolation ward at a hospital.

The government had also issued a travel advisory, asking Indian citizens to refrain from travelling to China.

Further, as a precautionary measure, thermal screening facilities have been extended to 21 airports, including Gaya, Guwahati, Vizag, Varanasi and Goa.

As per the report, over 33,500 passengers arriving in India from China in 155 flights have been screened at various airports till Monday (27 January).