india

Updated: Feb 20, 2020 18:07 IST

The country’s first coronavirus patient, a medical student who had returned from Wuhan in China, has been discharged from the Medical College Hospital in Thrissur on Thursday, the state health ministry said.

The discharge of the student marked the recovery of all three cases which had tested positive in the country and had been reported from Kerala. Two other students - one from Alappuzha and another from Kasargod - were discharged earlier after their repeated tests emerged negative. The first patient of the country, a woman student, was undergoing treatment in an isolation ward of the hospital since she tested positive on January 30. But all three patients who were discharged were asked to remain quarantined in their houses till March 2.

“Our vigilance and surveillance paid off. Whether it is surveillance, isolation, tracing contacts or home quarantine many spent sleepless nights. These are good lessons for us. We will not lower our guard now,” said State health minister K K Shailaja adding the health department will continue its campaign on hand hygiene, sneeze and cough precautions and cleanliness. She said the state will announce itself to be coronavirus -free once all home quarantined walk free.

All three 2019-nCoV cases in India have been reported in Kerala among students who returned from in China’s Wuhan, which is the epicentre of the outbreak. After the third case was reported, the state had declared a “medical calamity” and put some restrictions on large gatherings and excursions. But later it withdrew the “calamity” warning after it successfully restricted the virus-affected to three. It had pressed the emergency button on February 3 after the third patient was detected in Kasaragod in north Kerala. Having learnt a lesson from the Nipah outbreak two years ago, the state was on battle mode since the first case cropped up on January 30 enhancing surveillance and isolation mechanisms well.