43 Kerala hospital doctors kept in isolation after one of them tested positive for virus

Forty-three doctors of a premier medical institute in Kerala have been kept in isolation under medical observation after a doctor tested positive for the coronavirus.

These doctors belong to the SCTIMST (Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology) in Thiruvananthapuram, an institution of national importance under the Central government's Department of Science and Technology.

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Apart from these medical professionals, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, who had visited the institute on Saturday and attended a high level meeting there, put himself in home quarantine in Delhi.

Besides Muraleedharan, the district BJP leaders who had accompanied the minister to the SCTIMST have also decided to be in isolation.

Visitors wear face masks amid concerns over coronavirus visit the Lotus temple in New Delhi on Tuesday. AFP

The doctor who tested coronavirus positive had returned from Spain on March 1 and reported for duty from March 2 onwards.

On March 8, he developed a sore throat and wore a mask while attending to his duties, including seeing patients on March 10 and 11.

On March 12, he was directed to be kept in isolation after Spain got included in the list of nations affected by COVID-19. On March 14, he was made to undergo a repeat test for coronavirus, which came out positive on Sunday.

The parent department has constituted a three-member team to probe into the various issues faced by the institution.

Indo-Asian News Service