Published 18:00 IST, January 27th 2020
Monitoring strengthened along border in WB after Nepal confirms first Coronavirus case
Authorities on Monday strengthened the guard along the Indo-Nepal border in West Bengal after Nepal confirmed its first Coronavirus case on January 24.
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After Nepal confirmed its first case of the mysterious 'novel Coronavirus disease,' the Ministry of Health on Monday strengthened vigil at Panitanki (West Bengal) entry point from Nepal.
The Ministry of Health in its statement said, "We are on high vigil in districts bordering Nepal. We have strengthened vigil at Panitanki (West Bengal) entry point from Nepal."
With no case of the Coronavirus in India so far, the authorities continue to leave no stone unturned in ensuring proper precautionary measures. On January 27, a total of 29,707 passengers from 137 flights were screened in India.
The Ministry of Health also took to its official Twitter handle and informed about undertaking adequate measures within the five states that border Nepal.
The 5 states bordering #Nepal, in particular, have reported adequate preparedness for screening; awareness and arrangements for self reporting; orientation of health officials/staff and other agencies; and #coronavirus management protocols.
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) January 27, 2020
Nepal becomes 6th nation in the world to confirm Coronavirus case
The first case of the Coronavirus was confirmed by Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population on January 24 after the examination of the bodily fluid of a student, who had returned from Wuhan. Nepal has become the sixth nation in the world to confirm a case of the virus.
The infected 30-year-old student was quarantined at Sukraraj Tropical Hospital for five days. The first case of the virus in a foreign country was recorded on January 16 in Japan.
The mystery strain
It was WHO which confirmed the first case of a novel Coronavirus outside China, which has the same family as the deadly SARS virus. The UN health agency had said that the person traveling from Wuhan, China was hospitalised in Thailand and is recovering. According to the organisation, novel Coronavirus is a new strain in the large family of coronaviruses (CoV) which was not identified in humans before.
Novel Coronavirus or nCoV can cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). CoV is zoonotic which means such viruses transmit between animals and humans.
(With inputs from ANI)
18:00 IST, January 27th 2020