As of Monday morning, the death toll from coronavirus has reached 3000 globally, with over 80,000 cases reported.
While there are no positive cases currently reported from India, the earlier three individuals from Kerala who had tested positive, have all recovered and are doing well. State Health Minister KK Shailaja also confirmed on Sunday that a man who had died a day before in Kalamassery Medical College tested negative for coronavirus, allaying several fears.
As of 6 pm on March 1, Karnataka has screened 452 travellers from countries which have been identified to have positive cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The districts of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Chamrajnagar, Udupi and Mysuru remain under strict surveillance after the confirmation of positive cases in the bordering state of Kerala.
No positive cases have been reported from either Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana, though hundreds of individuals remain under observation in hospitals and at home quarantine.
Additionally, scores of passengers across various ports of entry into the country (including airports and seaports) are being screened. Health officials have issued travel advisories against travel to various parts of South Asia and China and individuals arriving from places with confirmed cases are required to be placed under quarantine for a period of 28 days prior to being allowed to return home.
The coronavirus disease outbreak is caused by a strain of the coronavirus which earlier had caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreaks in humans in 2002 and 2013 respectively. There is currently no vaccine available against the virus, nor is there a cure. Treatment is largely based on supportive measures though officials have noted that the use of antiretroviral drugs which are used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This has been speculated due to the large similarity in structure between the coronavirus strain and HIV.