The Kerala government is awaiting a second test result from the National Virology Institute, Pune, to confirm a second case of suspected Coronavirus affliction in the state.
Earlier, a Press Information Bureau release from New Delhi said that a second case was reported from the state, even as the first one was under strict observation and stable in an isolation ward in the Government Medical College in Thrissur.
The second case is also reported to be a student from China, who is now in an isolation ward at the Government Medical College in Alappuzha in Central Kerala, and reported to be stable.
Speaking to newspersons in Kollam, Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said the government was awaiting the second result, since it has already had the experience of a patient reporting negative after initial tests suggested it was a positive case.
The minister said the latest developments have only strengthened the state's resolve to keep a strict vigil on public health. The 1,723 persons under home quarantine have been advised not to venture out of their homes without informing health department officials.
This protocol is sought to be followed strictly as part of the strict vigil being mounted in the state, as was the case during the Nipah virus outbreak in the last couple of years.