China virus hits Kerala

New Delhi/ Thiruvananthapuram : India reported its first case of the coronavirus in Kerala on Thursday and the patient has been kept in an isolation ward, the state health minister said even as the government stepped up its efforts to detect and prevent the spread of the virus that has killed at least 170 people and infected more than 7,700 in China.

The government will also evacuate Indians on Friday from China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus, which has spread to at least 17 countries already.

Soon after the confirmed case of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) was reported in the country, Chinese embassy in New Delhi issued a statement, assuring cooperation to India in jointly strengthening the epidemic prevention and control.

Confirming the first positive case of the coronavirus, Priya Abraham, director of ICMR-NIV in Pune, said 49 samples have been tested till now at the national institute of virology and one sample has tested positive.

"The positive sample belongs to a student from Kerala who was studying in Wuhan. Now, a next test known as 'next-gen sequencing test' will be done on her sample and the final result will be declared till tomorrow evening," Abraham said.

In Thiruvananthapuram, state health minister K K Shylaja told reporters that the condition of the patient was stable. India has taken a number of steps to detect and control the deadly virus, which started from a seafood and wild animal market in Wuhan in Hubei province.

The Cabinet Secretary on Thursday reviewed the country's preparedness with the ministries concerned --health & family welfare, external affairs, defence, home affairs, civil aviation, information & broadcasting, labour & employment, and shipping to tackle the spread of the virus, an official release said, adding he also did a video conference with the chief secretaries of the states and UTs.

During these meetings, it was decided that all those who have come from China after 15 January will be tested for the exposure to the virus and also the lab facilities will be augmented.

While six more labs will start functioning from Thursday, including one in AIIMS in Delhi, another six will start function by Friday.