The Health Ministry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday, 10 February confirmed that an Indian national had contracted the deadly novel coronavirus after interacting with a recently diagnosed person.
"The Ministry of Health and Prevention announced today the eighth confirmed case of new #coronavirus in the UAE, which is an Indian national who had interacted with a recently diagnosed person", the health department of the UAE tweeted.
The ministry further stated that all eight persons who contracted the virus in the UAE were stable except one, who has been put in an intensive care unit.
In India, three cases of coronavirus have been reported so far in the southern state of Kerala. They have been kept in isolation wards in the area and are being closely monitored, the local health department has said, adding that all three had returned from Wuhan. Meanwhile, other countries, such as Australia, Germany, France, and Japan, have reported confirmed cases of the virus.
India has temporarily suspended flights and e-visas to foreigners to prevent the spread of the virus in the country.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has said that the novel coronavirus is a family of viruses that includes SARS and MERS and has symptoms similar to the flu. The organisation called the spread of the infection a global emergency.
According to Chinese media reports, the virus emerged in a live wild animal market in Wuhan, the capital city of China's Hubei province, in December.
