Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6: The Kerala government on Wednesday said three foreign nationals were among the 2,528 people under observation in the state for the novel coronavirus infection and no new cases have been reported.
At least 93 people with minor symptoms of the virus have been lodged in isolation wards of various hospitals, state Health Minister KK Shailaja told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
India's three positive cases for the virus has been from the state's three districts of Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kasaragod.
All the three are students of China's Wuhan university, the epicentre of the virus.
"No new cases of coronavirus has been detected in the state today. At least 2,435 are under observation at home while 93 are in isolation wards at various hospital across the state," Mr Shailaja said.
The minister also said two foreigners have been quarantined in Ernakulam district and one foreign national at Thiruvananthapuram.
"The foreigner in Thiruvananthapuram has been kept at general hospital but not because he was showing symptoms but for observation as he travelled from China," an official said.
The health status of the three patients, who had tested positive for the virus, "remains satisfactory", the minister said.
After three cases were reported, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had declared the epidemic as a "state calamity" on Monday.
The health department has issued advisories to the education, tourism and the animal husbandry departments on taking precautions.
"The students, teachers, other staff members residing with families of Wuhan/China returnees who are already in home isolation should not attend classes...," an advisory issued to the education department read.
Rajan Khobragade, Principal Secretary (Health), said the health department has directed the District collectors to hold a meeting with the religious leaders of the district to create awareness during prayer meetings.
"We have directed district collectors to meet religious leaders and talk to them about the seriousness of the situation and create awareness among them and their followers on how to contain the spread of virus," the minister said.
Mr Shailaja also said the department got messages from some Kerala students studying in China, who returned to the state after the virus outbreak, that their Universities had asked them to return and attend classes.
"We have got some messages from the students that they were being recalled by the universities in China. We discussed the matter and it was decided that the centre will contact such universities and convey the message that it was not possible to send the students back to China until the epidemic was under control," the minister said.
Mr Shailaja also said even though there were no positive cases for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, the state needs to remain vigilant and reiterated the 28 days quarantine period for those returning from China.
Of the 2,528 people under observation, the maximum number is from Malappuram (383), followed by Ernakulam (333), Kozhikode (306) and Thrissur (241).
Comments
Elite Indian nationalism defined: Every elite Indian can give his/her life for learning English if he/she needs to live in New York or London. But no elite Indian will sacrifice even a penny for learning Kannada if he/she needs to live in Bengaluru. Nationalism of jokers is always like that. (There are some rare exceptions to that, of course).
Look at how much useful English has been to India: India is one of the worst countries in education; the most starved country; suffers trade losses of more than 40 billion US dollars each year with China alone (I hope you know China doesn't teach in English); ranks 150th in per capita exports; administratively the most stupid one because administration is being carried out in language whish people don't understand; Also read this quotation from a worldwide study carried out by UNESCO, ‘What seems to be standing in our way is a set of myths about language and learning, and these myths must be revealed as such to open people’s eyes. One such myth is that the best way to learn a foreign language is to use it as a medium of instruction. (In fact, it is often more effective to learn additional languages as subjects of study.) Another is that to learn a foreign language you must start as early as possible. (Starting early might help learners to have a nice accent, but otherwise, the advantage goes to learners who have a well developed first language.) A third is that the home language gets in the way of learning a foreign language. (Building a strong foundation in the first language results in a better learning of additional languages.) Clearly, these myths are more false than true, yet they guide the way policymakers tend to think about how speakers of other languages must learn dominant or official languages.’ I will like to discuss with you further Mr. BigZero. If you agree, mail me at [email protected]
Can anything be more anti-national and educationally more stupid than what these 'Crazy' Board of Secondary Education people are saying? Kindly give your arguments if your answer is in Yes. Today itself, I stated in my TV interview that I don't find any education Board educationally as illiterate as the Indian 'Crazy' Board of Secondary Education. This is one more evidence of their illiteracy. I have mailed to the CBSE sataraps about their illiteracy on educational matters. But they never replied.
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಮಾತೃ ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸುವತ್ತ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ. ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು....
I find this interesting: "It is not a prestige not to learn Kannada...". Unfortunately,
many "elites" speak in other Languages - particularly in English - to show off.
There are problems with Kannadigaas too - we can't speak Kannada
without 80% English in it....
Court must be moved to knock out a ridiculous order. Language is correctly the choice of schools, parents and students. And students should not be burdened to learn languages that will have no use to them.
Karnataka govt. should close these schools if they refuse to comply.
When Hindi & English are mandatory and they did not make a hue and cry against these, what is their problem teaching Kannada in Karnataka?
UP-Bihar's Hindi language mandatory in Karnataka is OK, but not Kannada? What kind of nonsense is this?
@Ravi: Very correct and logical. Moreover, Karnataka and Kannada have been
taken for granted, by most of the people from outside.
People who don't want to learn Kannada in Karnataka and want to treat this place just as a safe haven for jobs, property and weather should leave the state. We have enough freeloaders here from all parts of the country resulting in the chaos in the city. Its time for the Govt. and Courts to tighten the strings.
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