Virus: the first known Indian patient tested positive for the second time - France 24

Thiruvananthapuram (India) (AFP)

The first Indian patient officially infected with Covid-19, a student who was at the start of the epidemic in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has tested positive for the second time, an Indian medical official told AFP on Wednesday .

The 21-year-old, from the state of Kerala (southwest), who has not been vaccinated, has no symptoms but is in isolation at her home, official Reena KJ told AFP. Thrissur District Medical Center.

She tested positive again during a routine check-up before a trip to New Delhi.

"The medical teams are in constant contact with her," said Reena KJ.

The patient was among Indian medical students who fled Wuhan in January 2020 after the virus first appeared in the Chinese city.

She had developed mild symptoms and tested positive on January 30, officially becoming the first Indian patient with Covid-19.

Since then, India has recorded nearly 31 million cases and mourns more than 410,000 deaths, many of which occurred in a devastating wave in April and May 2021.

Experts have warned that a new wave could hit India in the coming weeks and authorities have launched a very active vaccination campaign, however hampered by a severe shortage of doses.

The government has set a goal of vaccinating all adults by the end of the year, but the campaign has fallen behind and major cities like Delhi and several states are running out of vaccines.

India had administered more than nine million doses on June 21, after the government launched a new vaccination campaign.

But the numbers have since fallen to less than three million doses per day.

The country has so far vaccinated nearly 390 million people, or just under 6% of its population with two doses and 23% with just one.

Kerala is in the throes of a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, with more than a third of Indian cases originating from this state.

About 14,500 cases were identified there on Wednesday (out of 43,000 in total in the country) and the authorities announced a containment from this weekend in an attempt to stem the spread.

© 2021 AFP