Kerala reported 292 fresh COVID-19 infections and three deaths due to the disease in the last 24 hours, according to data on the Union Health Ministry website on Wednesday. Of the 341 COVID infections reported nationwide till 8 am today, 292 were from Kerala taking the active cases in the state to 2,041, as per the Ministry website.
Speaking to the media about the new variant, George said this was detected months ago in Indian passengers who were screened at Singapore Airport. She added that the new variant exists in other parts of the country too and there was no need for any worry in Kerala due to its robust health system. The case was detected in an RT-PCR positive sample from Karakulam in Thiruvananthapuram district on December 8, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General of ICMR, said.
Kerala is often more susceptible to viruses, as there are more international movements in the state. Another reason is that a major part of the state's population is spread across the globe. From monkeypox to COVID-19, the first case was reported in Kerala.
Kannur DMO said that till date, all persons tested positive are employees of Thalassery court complex. The minister said that health department is monitoring the pregnant women in the area and all hospitals have been asked to exercise vigil and have been given necessary guidelines on handling such cases.
The minister was responding to the allegations by the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan, who on Tuesday had cited a CAG report and charged that certain medicines were procured without examining their quality and 26 hospitals were given medicines which were past their expiry date.
The Nipah fatality rate in Kerala's fourth outbreak was brought down to 33% due to effective interventions by the state health system, according to Health Minister Veena George. All four infected individuals have recovered from the zoonotic illness. The virus strain in Kerala was the Bangladesh variant, which typically has a high mortality rate.
All four Nipah patients, including a nine-year-old boy who was on a ventilator for six days, have been discharged from hospitals in Kozhikode, India. The patients tested negative for the virus in two tests conducted in a five-day interval. The health minister stated that no deaths occurred during this outbreak, which had a mortality rate of 33% compared to the usual rate of over 70%. Efforts are being made to develop an indigenous monoclonal antibody, and continuous community surveillance will be conducted in Kozhikode.
In a groundbreaking moment for medical history, a hospital in Kozhikode celebrates the triumphant recovery of two Nipah patients, including a child who defied the odds of survival while on a ventilator.
No new cases were reported for the fifth consecutive day. There were six positive cases in the current outbreak with the last person testing negative on September 15. Meanwhile, condition of the nine-year-old patient, currently under treatment at a private hospital, improved following which he was removed from oxygen support.
The Disaster Management Department in Kerala's Kozhikode has relaxed the restrictions in the district as no new cases of Nipah virus infection were reported in the state, the officials informed on Tuesday.
Kozhikode District Collector A Geetha has issued an order in this regard which stated that the new arrangement has been introduced to ensure that students do not miss out on their studies due to continuous leave.
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