Kolkata: India’s first and only confirmed patient of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) — a student from Thrissur in Kerala — had travelled through Kolkata airport on January 23, four days before she showed signs of flu. She tested positive for the virus on Thursday. On Friday, Kolkata airport officials said the woman had not shown any symptom of nCoV when she was screened at the airport, but they had warned the Kochi airport about her upon learning that she was coming from Wuhan and was heading to her hometown via Kochi.
“We had screened her with thermal guns and did all the necessary checks, but she had not shown any signs of infection at that point. But we alerted Kochi airport to keep tabs on the woman,” said a senior official of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport.
According to records maintained by Kolkata airport, the woman came to the city on a China Eastern Airlines flight from Kunming on the night of January 23, the day the Wuhan airport was locked down. She had apparently come out of Wuhan along with some other Indian students the night before and was among the last batches of Indian nationals from Wuhan who could come back on their own. China Eastern Airlines has a direct flight between Kunming and Wuhan, but they suspended services on January 23.
From Kolkata, she took a direct flight to Kochi on January 24, and then travelled by road to her hometown at Mathilakam. At Kochi airport, she was advised by officials to report to the nearest health centre if she showed any symptom of flu. She was asked to stay at home for the next 14 days, maintain personal hygiene and wear a mask.
On January 27, she developed symptoms of flu and contacted the state health department, which sent a team of officials to her home and moved her to an isolation ward at the Thrissur General Hospital. Her body fluid sample was sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the same day and on Thursday morning, the NIV informed that the case was positive.
01/02/20 Tamghna Banerjee/Times of India
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“We had screened her with thermal guns and did all the necessary checks, but she had not shown any signs of infection at that point. But we alerted Kochi airport to keep tabs on the woman,” said a senior official of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport.
According to records maintained by Kolkata airport, the woman came to the city on a China Eastern Airlines flight from Kunming on the night of January 23, the day the Wuhan airport was locked down. She had apparently come out of Wuhan along with some other Indian students the night before and was among the last batches of Indian nationals from Wuhan who could come back on their own. China Eastern Airlines has a direct flight between Kunming and Wuhan, but they suspended services on January 23.
From Kolkata, she took a direct flight to Kochi on January 24, and then travelled by road to her hometown at Mathilakam. At Kochi airport, she was advised by officials to report to the nearest health centre if she showed any symptom of flu. She was asked to stay at home for the next 14 days, maintain personal hygiene and wear a mask.
On January 27, she developed symptoms of flu and contacted the state health department, which sent a team of officials to her home and moved her to an isolation ward at the Thrissur General Hospital. Her body fluid sample was sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the same day and on Thursday morning, the NIV informed that the case was positive.
01/02/20 Tamghna Banerjee/Times of India
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