THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fact that the first three confirmed cases of novel coronavirus nCoV ) are from Kerala is actually an indication of how ‘healthy’ the state’s first line of defence against contagious diseases and epidemics is. From immigration officials and police to panchayats and local level health volunteers, the system put in place following the Nipah scare of 2018, which claimed 17 lives in the state due to initial unpreparedness, is multi-tiered and seamlessly integrated.Soon after the nCoV epidemic was reported in China, international passengers arriving in the state were given a health card in which they have to list out travel details and their health condition. “This card is screened at the first entry point by the health desk and the passenger has to get a clearance seal for proceeding to immigration. If the passenger is from China or Hong Kong or other infected regions, they are shifted to a transit room where their body temperature is immediately measured,’’ said Dr Amar Fettle, state nodal officer (public emergency), currently in charge of the anti-nCoV effort in the state.A well-coordinated system ensured that all who reached the state from China in the last four weeks were located and examined by medical practitioners. The state has also issued protocols for treatment and home isolation so that proper preventive mechanism is in place everywhere. In addition, there has been a widespread awareness campaign meant for the general public, and the authorities have been quick to crack down on those spreading rumours or fake news regarding the epidemic.As per statistics released on Monday evening, 2,239 people are under surveillance; 84 of them in various hospitals. Though there are concerns that a few of them might turn positive, the health department is confident that the spread of the virus is under control.Health minister K K Shailaja said the key to controlling the spread of epidemics is to track down all who had come from the affected regions. "Our surveillance system has been finetuned with the experience gathered from such threats faced in the past. Since we could track down all the people travelling from the infected regions we could easily identify those who are having the slightest of symptoms,’’ she said. “We are getting several queries from other states on how we are tackling the crisis and we happily share the protocols with them,” she added.All the state’s five airports have been linked to ambulances and emergency response in district hospitals. Any passenger who has fever, cough or sore throat is immediately shifted to the linked hospital and from there a message is passed to the district medical office. This office immediately contacts family members of the person and informs about the isolation of the passenger. “If travellers have no symptoms they are allowed to go to their house. But, they will continue to be under surveillance of health teams in the region,” said Dr Fettle.The passengers who arrive at the domestic terminals are also subjected to the scrutiny of the health desk before they exit. “The only matter of concern for us was the people who are travelling to the state after alighting at different airports outside the state. But we are happy that many of them have come voluntarily to report to the nearest health centre,’’ said Shailaja.As the nCoV threat loomed, the health department decided to track down all those who had travelled from China since December first week. “I was surprised to get a call from the police station asking about my travel details. As soon as I told them that I travelled from China on December 10, the policeman requested me to visit the nearest health centre. He even suggested that health workers would come to my place if I have any objection to visit hospital,” said a businessman who frequents China for purchasing electronic goods.“We have a well-coordinated health care system at the primary level. This helped provide the best surveillance results when the state faced the Nipah threat. We could quarantine people of affected areas without the disease spreading further. This was made possible only with the sincere effort of field-level health workers,” said Dr B Ekbal, state planning board member.Soon after the nCoV epidemic was reported in China, international passengers arriving in the state were given a health card in which they have to list out travel details and their health condition. “This card is screened at the first entry point by the health desk and the passenger has to get a clearance seal for proceeding to immigration. If the passenger is from China or Hong Kong or other infected regions, they are shifted to a transit room where their body temperature is immediately measured,’’ said Dr Amar Fettle, state nodal officer (public emergency), currently in charge of the anti-nCoV effort in the state.A well-coordinated system ensured that all who reached the state from China in the last four weeks were located and examined by medical practitioners. The state has also issued protocols for treatment and home isolation so that proper preventive mechanism is in place everywhere. In addition, there has been a widespread awareness campaign meant for the general public, and the authorities have been quick to crack down on those spreading rumours or fake news regarding the epidemic.As per statistics released on Monday evening, 2,239 people are under surveillance; 84 of them in various hospitals. Though there are concerns that a few of them might turn positive, the health department is confident that the spread of the virus is under control.Health minister K K Shailaja said the key to controlling the spread of epidemics is to track down all who had come from the affected regions. "Our surveillance system has been finetuned with the experience gathered from such threats faced in the past. Since we could track down all the people travelling from the infected regions we could easily identify those who are having the slightest of symptoms,’’ she said. “We are getting several queries from other states on how we are tackling the crisis and we happily share the protocols with them,” she added.All the state’s five airports have been linked to ambulances and emergency response in district hospitals. Any passenger who has fever, cough or sore throat is immediately shifted to the linked hospital and from there a message is passed to the district medical office. This office immediately contacts family members of the person and informs about the isolation of the passenger. “If travellers have no symptoms they are allowed to go to their house. But, they will continue to be under surveillance of health teams in the region,” said Dr Fettle.The passengers who arrive at the domestic terminals are also subjected to the scrutiny of the health desk before they exit. “The only matter of concern for us was the people who are travelling to the state after alighting at different airports outside the state. But we are happy that many of them have come voluntarily to report to the nearest health centre,’’ said Shailaja.As the nCoV threat loomed, the health department decided to track down all those who had travelled from China since December first week. “I was surprised to get a call from the police station asking about my travel details. As soon as I told them that I travelled from China on December 10, the policeman requested me to visit the nearest health centre. He even suggested that health workers would come to my place if I have any objection to visit hospital,” said a businessman who frequents China for purchasing electronic goods.“We have a well-coordinated health care system at the primary level. This helped provide the best surveillance results when the state faced the Nipah threat. We could quarantine people of affected areas without the disease spreading further. This was made possible only with the sincere effort of field-level health workers,” said Dr B Ekbal, state planning board member.