Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Thursday confirmed that an Indian nurse working in Saudi Arabia has been infected with the Coronavirus. This is the first case of an Indian getting infected with this virus.
China, the epicentre of the virus, is taking measures to control the outbreak. On Thursday, China locked down Wuhan and Huanggang cities in the Hubei province even as the virus has killed 17 people and infected more than 630.
Update from @CGIJeddah : About 100 Indian nurses mostly from Kerala working at Al-Hayat hospital have been tested and none except one nurse was found infected by Corona virus. Affected nurse is being treated at Aseer National Hospital and is recovering well. @PMOIndia @MEAIndia https://t.co/jM0u5243GV
— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) January 23, 2020
Spoke to @CGIJeddah on Indian nurses quarantined at Al-Hayat Hospital, Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia due to Corona virus threat.
They are in touch with hospital management and Saudi foreign Ministry. Have asked our Consulate to provide all possible support. @MEAIndia @PMOIndia
— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) January 23, 2020
The Indian nurse affected, who works at the Al-Hayat hospital in Khamis Mushait, is being treated at Aseer National Hospital and is recovering well tweeted Muraleedharan, taking to the micro-blogging site Twitter. Al-Hayat Hospital is in Khamis Mushait, some 900 km southwest of the capital Riyadh.
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Muraleedharan tweeted, “Spoke to Consulate General of India, Jeddah on Indian nurses quarantined at Al-Hayat Hospital, Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia due to Corona virus threat. They are in touch with hospital management and Saudi foreign Ministry. Have asked our Consulate to provide all possible support.”
“Update from Consulate General of India, Jeddah: About 100 Indian nurses mostly from Kerala working at Al-Hayat hospital have been tested and none except one nurse was found infected by Corona virus. Affected nurse is being treated at Aseer National Hospital and is recovering well,” he later tweeted.
On January 22, the health ministry of Saudi Arabia had said that it will start screening passengers arriving from China and take other preventive measures following the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China.
The virus, which can pass from person-to-person, has been reported in Thailand, Japan and South Korea, raising concerns about its spread through international air travel. Nearly 600 people have been infected, mostly in China, but cases have been detected as far away as the US.
Source: Zee News