After an Indian nurse from Kerala state had contracted the deadly Coronavirus (nCov) and three others were placed under observation in Saudi Arabia, the State chief of India’s Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan has sought the Central Government’s intervention.
Update from @CGIJeddah : About 100 Indian nurses mostly from Kerala working at Al-Hayat hospital have been tested and none except one nurse was found infected by Corona virus. Affected nurse is being treated at Aseer National Hospital and is recovering well. @PMOIndia @MEAIndia https://t.co/jM0u5243GV
— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) January 23, 2020
The State chief in a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday requested intervention in the matter and asked for the ministry to communicate with the Gulf nation over the issue.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Ministry of External Affairs, seeking intervention in coronavirus outbreak among Kerala nurses in Saudi Arabia. The Chief Minister has also requested Ministry of External Affairs to communicate with Saudi Arabia. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/uurv4ADSrC
— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2020
According to Times Now, the nurse who tested positive for the virus was caring for an affected patient at Al Hayat National Hospital in Saudi Arabia’s Abha city. All four nurses have been kept in the isolation ward at a different hospital.
The infected nurse hails from Kerala’s town of Ettumanoor.
Meanwhile, the Indian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Raveesh Kumar informed media that the ministry has issued an advisory to the Ministry of Civil Aviation; Health & Family Welfare; and Indian consulates in China that people arriving in Indian from China will have to undergo a virus screening at the airport.
India’s Ministry of Home Affairs announced on Thursday that “no case of novel coronavirus has been detected in the country. So far, 12,828 passengers from 60 flights were screened”.
The Coronavirus breakout that began in China’s city of Wuhan has affected over 600 people including in the city, and over 15 deaths have been reported so far.