It's official: First coronavirus case in Kerala

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday said one positive case of Novel Coronavirus from Kerala has come to light.

"One positive case of Novel Coronavirus -- a student studying in Wuhan University -- has been reported from Kerala," said a statement released by the Health Ministry.

The patient is kept in isolation in a hospital. "The patient is stable and is being closely monitored," said the ministry statement.

A Kerala report said Health Minister K.K. Shailaja has called for an emergency meeting of top health officials.

"We were waiting for the test results of six samples and we received the result of five which were negative," said the official who did not wish to be identified.

According to the figures put



out on Wednesday night by Kerala health authorities, around 800 people are under observation with 10 in hospitals and the rest at their homes.

Wuhan city of China witnessed an outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus last month. Since then the death toll in China from the new coronavirus has risen to 170 with 7,711 confirmed cases, as repatriation flights for foreign nationals continued.

Outside China, Hong Kong and Macau, other countries with confirmed cases include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Canada, the United States, United Arab Emirates, Australia (two new cases reported on Thursday), France and Germany.

Finland reported its first case on Wednesday. Several cases in Taiwan were also included in the national count.