The first positive case of Novel Coronavirus has been reported in the southern Indian state of Kerala, the Indian ministry of health and family welfare said in a statement on Thursday.
The patient, who was studying at Wuhan University in China, is currently stable and is being closely monitored, the ministry said.
Soon after the reports of deaths in China from the Novel Coronavirus emerged, the Indian Civil Aviation Ministry called for the immediate implementation of an action plan including the screening of passengers arriving from China and Hong Kong at major airports across the country.
India’s Health Ministry has also issued a travel advisory and has asked designated airports to monitor passengers. The Indian government has organised all logistics support and made arrangements to screen air passengers in cities including Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
The new coronavirus was first registered in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, with the epidemic leaving 170 people dead in China, and over 7,700 infected. The virus has already spread to over a dozen countries, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Nepal and France, among others.