Coronavirus Outbreak in Kerala: Two Including 19-Year-Old Test Positive For COVID-19 Despite Being Asymptomatic in Pathanamthitta
Two people who had shown no symptoms of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have tested positive for the disease in Kerala's Pathanamthitta.
Pathanamthitta, April 7: Two people who had shown no symptoms of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have tested positive for the disease in Kerala's Pathanamthitta, District Collector PB Nooh said on Tuesday. One of the patients is a 60-year-old man who had travelled from Dubai to Pathanamthitta; another is a 19-year-old student who had travelled from Delhi. Both tested positive for coronavirus despite being asymptomatic. Coronavirus Outbreak Live News Updates on April 7.
The elderly patient was quarantined from March 19 to April 6 as he had returned from a high-risk area. He had flown in from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram on March 19 and travelled by road to his hometown. He was tested despite being asymptomatic and found negative. However, he has contracted coronavirus. The teenager had left Delhi on March 15 in a train and arrived in Ernakulam on March 17. She then boarded a bus to her hometown. Kerala to Conduct Rapid Tests to Check if Coronavirus is Entering Into Community Spread Stage.
She was admitted to the hospital on April 4 after she tested positive despite being asymptomatic. "This is a warning sign. Thousands of innocent, unknown people might also have come in contact with these asymptomatic carriers. The fact that they passed their 14-day quarantine period, without showing any symptoms, is further alarming. This means, we still need to tread a cautious path," District Collector PB Nooh was quoted by NDTV as saying.
After the matter came to the fore, the state administration has swung into action. "We have started testing people who have travelled recently to high-risk zones or those who are in vulnerable categories due to their contacts, even though they may be asymptomatic," Pathanamthitta District Medical Officer AN Sheeja told NDTV. Kerala is one of the worst-affected states where over 300 coronavirus cases have emerged so far, including two deaths.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2020 06:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).