The Kerala government on Monday declared coronavirus infection a ‘state calamity’ on the recommendation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after the three patients tested positive for it.
The decision was announced by health minister KK Shailaja at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram after a meeting of the apex committee of state disaster management authority (SDMA) chaired by chief secretary Tom Jose.
“The announcement is not meant to scare people. It is to help take proactive steps to intensify the steps to contain the spread of the virus,” Shailaja said.
All three patients in Kerala are students who returned from China’s Wuhan city. In China, the deadly coronavirus has killed over 350 people in the last four days.
ALSO READ: Plenty of proof that you are terrorist: Prakash Javadekar to Arvind Kejriwal
The decision has been taken with the aim of effectively containing the outbreak, especially since those who have arrived from Wuhan are currently scattered across the 14 districts of the state in house quarantine.
“We are not waiting anymore for positive cases to come. We will be prepared to take containment action and will not have lag time…with this, our multi-pronged approach to contain the epidemic has been strengthened many folds,” health secretary Rajan Khobragade told reporters.
“Third positive case of Novel Coronavirus patient, has been reported in Kerala. The patient has a travel history from Wuhan in China. The patient has tested positive for Novel Coronavirus and is in isolation in the hospital. The patient is stable and is being closely monitored,” the Health Ministry said in a statement today.
Over 2,000 people are under surveillance at their homes in Kerala for possible exposure to the virus. Seventy people are being monitored in isolation wards across the state.