Classmates of the student who had tested positive for nCoV

At least two persons have been admitted to the isolation ward of the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, on suspicion of being infected with the novel coronavirus (nCoV).

Sources said here on Friday that the admitted were classmates of the student who had tested positive for nCoV in Thrissur on return from Wuhan in China. “We have placed two persons in quarantine. Their body fluid samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, for tests and are awaiting the results. They remain in a stable condition,” said an official.

Meanwhile, Alappuzha District Collector M. Anjana said no nCoV case had been reported in the district. “There is no need for panic. We just need to be alert,” Ms. Anjana told mediapersons here on Friday.

She said that suspected cases had been put under observation.

“Both the police and Tourism Department officials are engaged in identifying people who reached Alappuzha from China and other countries since the turn of the year,” the Collector said.