Kerala declares Coronavirus as state disaster after three cases confirmed positive

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has declared the Coronavirus as a state disaster. Health Minister KK Shailaja on Monday had said, "Kerala today declared the n-coronavirus as a state disaster. We want to strengthen our surveillance system and precautionary measures."

"When we came to know that n-coronavirus is rampant in China, we put in place our own system to contain the virus. There are many students from Kerala in China. We expect that they will come back and the coronavirus may affect the state. We have three positive cases of coronavirus so far. The samples had been sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing. We are calling back the health officers from leave and putting in place all measures to contain the effect of this virus," Shailaja had said.

The announcement followed after a third case of coronavirus was tested positive in Kasargod, Kerala. "Today one more case has tested positive for coronavirus from Kasaragod. The patient is under treatment at Kanjangad District Hospital in Kasaragod. The patient`s condition is stable. The student had returned from Wuhan," Shailaja had said.

India`s first confirmed case of coronavirus had been reported from Kerala a few days ago. The virus originated in Wuhan in Hubei province of China in December and since then has spread to various parts around the world. China has imposed quarantine and travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate.

The death toll in China has increased to 425, with the total number of cases now standing at 20,438. The new figures come after the country opened a new hospital built in 10 days, infused cash into tumbling financial markets and further restricted people's movement in hopes of containing the rapidly spreading virus and its escalating impact.