A three-year-old here today became the youngest child to test positive for the novel coronavirus in India even as a woman died due to monkey fever in north Kerala.
The child and parents had returned from Italy via Dubai and had landed at the Cochin International Airport Limited at 6 am on March 7.
The thermal screening at the airport indicated fever and the child had symptoms of coronavirus. The child and the parents were immediately referred to the isolation ward of the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital.
While the child is receiving treatment, the parents are under close observation, officials said.
On admission, the samples of the child and parents were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha. The child tested positive for Coronavirus.
"Though the parents haven't shown any symptoms of fever, they have also been kept in isolation," a press release said on Monday.
Later, the child and the parents were shifted to the isolation ward in Ernakulam Medical College.
Kerala is on high alert even as the massive festival of Attungal Pongala, where thousands of women gathered, passed off without any issues in Thiruvananthapuram.
Meanwhile, a 48-year-old woman died of Kyasanur Forest Disease (monkey fever) at Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital.
The deceased was identified as Meenakshi of Mananthavadi in Wayanad.
She was undergoing treatment for the virus infection for the past four days. She was first admitted to District Government Hospital, Mananthavadi, and was shifted to the Kozhikode medical college hospital on Friday. This is the first death reported from Wayanad due to monkey fever infection.
Three more persons are still undergoing treatment for the virus infection in Wayanad district. This year, 13 cases of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) were reported in the district, of which nine were discharged after treatment.
“Around 600 people living close to the forest have been administered with the KFD vaccine so far. Health officers are taking efforts to make the public aware about the virus spread and its precautionary measures,” District Medical Officer R Renuka said.
