Kerala Nurse Working in Saudi Tests Positive for Coronavirus, CM Asks Centre to Take Urgent Steps

Thiruvananthapuram: Amid reports that a nurse from Kerala working in Saudi Arabia has tested positive for the new Coronavirus, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday urged External Affairs minister S Jaishankar to take up the matter with the Gulf nation and ensure expert treatment.

Vijayan made the request in a letter to Jaishankar, a statement from the chief minister's office said here.

Several reports on Thursday said a nurse from Ettumannur in Kottayam district, working at the Al Hayat hospital in Saudi Arabia, had tested positive for the virus which has killed 17 people in China so far.

At least 30 nurses from the state have also been kept under isolation at the hospital and they had taken care of a Filipino nurse who had tested positive for the virus.

The government should get in touch with its counterpart in Saudi Arabia and take urgent steps, including ensuring expert treatment and protection to those affected from the virus. The matter should be viewed seriously, Vijayan said in the letter.

Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, said he has spoken to the Consulate General of India in Saudi Arabia, asking them to provide all possible support to the quarantined nurses.

In an update, Muraleedharan said about 100 Indian nurses, mostly from Kerala and working at the Al-Hayat hospital, have been tested. "The affected nurse is being treated at the Aseer National Hospital and is recovering well," he said in a tweet.

However, sources from the Health Department here said they have no information about any nurses from the state having been affected. The department has issued an alert in the wake of the virus outbreak in China.

State Health minister KK Shyalaja has said those who have returned from China should inform district medical officers besides instructing officials to step up surveillance in all four airports-- Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur--in the state.

More than 12,000 passengers screened so far

Meanwhile, a total of 12,828 passengers from 60 flights have been screened for the infection till January 22, but no positive case has been detected in the country so far, said the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan is reviewing the evolving scenario and the preparedness status. She has asked states and Union Territories to review hospital preparedness in terms of isolation and ventilator management of critically ill patients, identify gaps and strengthen core capacities in the area of surveillance and laboratory support, an official statement said.

Thermal screening is being done at the international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin.

The civil aviation ministry has asked airlines to follow International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines for managing and notifying anybody reporting illness on flights originating from China and disembarking in India. The ministry has instructed for in-flight announcements for India bound flights.

A travel advisory was issued on January 17 and put up on the ministry's website and also on the Twitter handle for wider circulation.

"Port and airport health organisations have been sensitised and thermal screening has been initiated at the international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin airports," the statement said.

The airport health organisations have also put up signages at prominent locations informing the public about self-reporting of illness. Immigration officers manning the counters have been sensitised at these airports.

The ministry of health has written to the governments of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka to review and strengthen preparedness measures at designated airports for provision of isolation and critical care facilities, linkages with VRDL network laboratories and adherence to infection prevention and control guidelines.

The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme has issued advisory to all states and union territories for surveillance to pick up any travel-related case reported in the community and follow up contacts of suspect or confirmed cases.

(With inputs from PTI)