Indian nurse at Saudi hospital tests positive for coronavirus: Govt
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 23: An Indian nurse working at a hospital in Saudi Arabia tested positive for the novel coronavirus when she and nearly 100 of her Indian colleagues, mostly from Kerala, were screened, the government said on Thursday.
The affected nurse is being treated at the Aseer National Hospital and is recovering well, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said.
In a tweet, he said, "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."
Muraleedharan said he had earlier spoken to the Indian Consulate in Jeddah on the Indian nurses quarantined at Al-Hayat Hospital, Khamis Mushait, due to the coronavirus threat.
"They are in touch with hospital management and Saudi foreign Ministry. Have asked our Consulate to provide all possible support," he said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to External Affairs minister S Jaishankar to take urgent steps in ensuring expert treatment and protection to those affected from the virus.
There were media reports that the affected nurse was from Ettumannur in Kerala's Kottayam district.
Kerala Health Minister K K Shyalaja said those who have returned from China should inform district medical officers and instructed officials to step up surveillance in all four airports-- Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur--in the state.
The coronavirus has infected over 630 people and left 17 others dead in China, where authorities have locked down five cities, including Wuhan, and suspended all public transport in an unprecedented move to contain its spread.
The Union health ministry has said 12,828 passengers from 60 flights have been screened for novel coronavirus infection till January 22 but no positive case has been detected in the country so far.
Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan is reviewing the evolving scenario and the preparedness status.
She has asked states and union territories to review hospital preparedness in terms of isolation and ventilator management of critically ill patients, identify gaps and strengthen core capacities in the area of surveillance and laboratory support, an official statement said.
Thermal screening is being done at the international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin.
The civil aviation ministry has asked airlines to follow International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines for managing and notifying anybody reporting illness on flights originating from China and disembarking in India.
A travel advisory was issued on January 17 and put up on the ministry's website and also on the Twitter handle for wider circulation.
"Port and airport health organisations have been sensitised and thermal screening has been initiated at the international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin airports," the statement said.
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35 Muslim candidates contesting LS polls in Gujarat; none fielded by Cong
Ahmedabad (PTI): Thirty-five Muslim candidates are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat but the Congress has this time broken its tradition and not fielded a single person from the community in the state.
The Congress has argued that the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat, from where it used to traditionally field a Muslim candidate, has this time gone to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as part of the seat sharing agreement among the opposition INDIA bloc constituents.
Among national parties, only the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded a Muslim candidate from Gandhinagar for the May 7 polls in the state.
The BSP had also fielded a Muslim candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Panchmahal.
This time, 35 Muslim candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha polls to be held in 25 out of the 26 seats in Gujarat, compared to 43 nominees from the community in 2019, according to Election Commission data.
Most of the candidates from the community are either contesting independently or have been fielded by lesser-known parties.
Gujarat Congress's minority department chairman Vajirkhan Pathan told PTI, "The party has traditionally fielded at least one candidate from the Muslim community in the Lok Sabha elections in the state, especially from Bharuch. This time it was not possible as the seat went to the AAP."
The Congress had offered to field a candidate from one seat in Gujarat, but the community members declined given a slim chance of victory, he claimed.
"There is no scope for a Muslim candidate to contest from any other seat. Two seats - Ahmedabad West and Kutch - with sizable Muslim population are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates," Pathan said.
Apart from Bharuch, the Congress has in the past fielded Muslim candidates from Navsari and Ahmedabad (when it was not divided into Ahmedabad East and West seats).
In 1977, the Congress sent two Muslim candidates to Parliament - Ehsan Jafri from Ahmedabad and Ahmed Patel from Bharuch.
Patel went on to win two subsequent elections in 1980 and 1984 from Bharuch.
His son Faisal Patel and daughter Mumtaz Patel were among the contenders for the seat this time and had even expressed unhappiness after it went to the AAP which fielded tribal leader Chaitar Vasava.
In the past, the Congress fielded Muhammad Patel, Aziz Tankarvi and Sherkhan Pathan from Bharuch in the 2004, 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, respectively. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, it fielded Maksud Mirza, its only Muslim candidate, from the Navsari seat.
The Mayavati-led BSP has this time offered ticket to Mohammad Anis Desai to contest from Gandhinagar, where he is pitted against BJP heavyweight and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat where elections will be held, Gandhinagar has the highest number of eight Muslim candidates.
Jamnagar and Navsari have five Muslim candidates each, Patan and Bharuch four each, Porbandar and Kheda two each, and Ahmedabad East, Banaskantha, Junagadh, Panchmahl and Sabarkantha one each, according to Election Commission data.
While a majority of them are contesting as independents, some smaller parties such as the Right to Recall Party, Bharatiya Jan Nayak Party, Social Democratic Party, Garib Kalyan Party and Log Party have also fielded Muslim candidates from different seats.
Ismail Patel, the sarpanch of Sarod village in Bharuch's Jambusar taluka who is contesting as an independent candidate from Bharuch Lok Sabha seat, said he tried for a ticket for the 2022 state assembly elections, but it was denied by the Congress.
"Big political parties ignore Muslim leaders because of which we have to find a way out and contest the election as independent candidates. People in our area face a lot of issues but the local leaders do not come to their aid, because of which locals want a leader from their community," he claimed.
A total of 266 candidates are in the fray for the May 7 elections in Gujarat, according to the final list of candidates published on April 22.
Out of the 26 seats in Gujarat, Surat has gone to the BJP after its candidate Mukesh Dalal was last week declared elected unopposed.
