Kerala withdraws ‘state calamity’ status on coronavirus infections

The decision to withdraw the declaration was made after 67 of the 72 people who returned to the state from China — the epicentre of the outbreak — tested negative for nCov infection and the condition of the three positive cases remained stable.

By: Express News Service

Thiruvananthapuram | February 8, 2020 03:49 AM IST

2 min read

Indian workers walk with garbage after cleaning an isolation ward at a hospital for observing people suspected to have a new coronavirus infection in Kochi, Kerala state, India, Tuesday, Feb.4, 2020. India has so far confirmed three cases of the viral outbreak that began in China and has infected more than 20,600 people globally. The signage requests patients arriving for coronavirus virus treatment to report directly at the isolation ward. (AP Photo/Prakash Elamakkara)

The Kerala government on Friday withdrew the ‘state calamity’ status it had declared after three novel coronavirus (nCov) infection cases were reported in the state, as no new cases have been reported so far.

After a meeting of the state’s disaster management authority, Health Minister K K Shailaja said as no fresh positive cases were reported in the state so far, the decision to withdraw the ‘calamity’ status was taken. However, she added that the high state of surveillance and response would continue.

Those in primary as well as secondary contact of the positive cases are under strict observation but they have not reported any symptoms so far. A team from the National Disaster Management Authority has visited the state and expressed satisfaction to the state’s response.
On February 7, the number of those suspected to be exposed to the virus rose to 3,014 in Kerala. Of them, 2,951 are under home quarantine and 61 are isolated in hospitals. Of the 285 samples sent for testing, 261 samples have reported negative for nCov infection.

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