Media urged to maintain nCoV patient's privacy

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday issued an advisory to the media persons to maintain the dignity and privacy of the patient who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"I request all our press that we must like other international press maintain the dignity and privacy of our patients. Let's all take this conscious decision collectively so that we can be an example to the world," Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said in a statement, adding "If you notice, China also has not given these details."

The secretary said this when asked to share the details of the first novel Coronavirus patient in Kerala.

The Health Ministry on Thursday confirmed that one person who was studying in Wuhan University in China tested positive for novel coronavirus. The person was quaratined and is being closely monitored, said the official.

Wuhan city in China witnessed an outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus last month. Since then the death toll in China from the new virus has risen to over 170 with 7,711 confirmed cases, as repatriation flights for foreign nationals continued.

Outside China, Hong Kong and Macau, other countries with confirmed cases include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Canada, the United States, United Arab Emirates, Australia (two new cases reported on Thursday), France and Germany.

Finland reported its first case on Wednesday. Several cases in Taiwan were also included in the national count.. The symptoms of the new coronavirus, provisionally designated by the WHO as 2019-nCoV, are similar to those of cold but may be accompanied by fever and fatigue, dry cough and shortness of breath.IANS