Three-year-old tests positive in Kerala; total cases in India now at 40

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Ernakulam: A three-year-old boy in Ernakulam in Kerala has tested positive for coronavirus, taking the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients to 40 in India.

The boy had returned from Italy with its parents at the Cochin International airport on an EK 503 flight on March 7 morning, officials said.

"After universal screening at the airport, the child was transferred to Ernakulam Medical College. His father and mother are under observation in the Isolation Ward of the medical college," Ernakulam District Medical Officer Dr NK Kuttappan said. The condition of the child who is under observation and is undergoing treatment at the hospital is stable. On Sunday the state government had confirmed 5 new cases of COVID-19 in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district.

State Health Minister KK Shailaja had yesterday said that out of the five, three recently returned from Italy and two more got the disease in the district. Contact tracing of the affected who are now under medical supervision have been initiated, she said

Earlier, Centre had suspended visas and e-visas granted on or before March 3 to people travelling from Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan, effective immediately, after a surge in cases of Covid-19 in these countries. The deadly coronavirus has caused deaths of over 3,300 people globally.