A nurse of Indian origin working in Saudi Arabia has been detected to be infected by the deadly Coronavirus that originated in China and has killed 17 people so far, V Muraleedharan, the Minister of State for External Affairs confirmed on Thursday.

Muraleedharan through a tweet told that about 100 Indian nurses who were mostly from Kerala were tested and none except one was found to be infected due to the virus.

He further told that the affected nurse is being treated at Aseer National Hospital in Saudi Arabia and is recovering well.

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. @PMOIndia @MEAIndia https://t.co/jM0u5243GV

— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) January 23, 2020

The Junior Foreign Minister had earlier also informed about the nurses being quarantined at a hospital due to the Coronavirus threat.

As reported by Indian Express, the nurse who hails from Kottayam’s Ettumanoor, Kerala, was infected with the virus while taking the case of a Filipino nurse.

Reacting on the news, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to the Ministry of External affairs, urging External Affairs Minister to take up the matter with Saudi Arabia. He also urged him to ensure expert treatment.

“Corona outbreak among nurses in Azir Aba Al Hayat hospital in Saudi Arabia should be considered seriously and necessary steps must be taken,” Vijayan was quoted saying by NDTV.

Alert has been sounded by the government at the entire airports to screen the passengers in order to avoid the threat of virus. Passengers especially from Middle East and South Korea are being scanned.

Health Ministry has also issued a travel advisory to those travelling to China. “We are on alert & our preparedness is sturdy. Passengers travelling from China requested to report to nearest public health facility in case they feel any symptom,” health ministry tweeted.

A flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, and sore throat could be traced in the person who is infected due to the Coronavirus.

After a case of one Indian teacher infected by the virus in China was reported, India issued an advisory last week against travel to Wuhan.

Advisory has been issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Indian consulates in China. People coming from China are taken through a specialised thermal screening process at airports.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has informed that no case of novel coronavirus has been detected in the country.

The first case of the new virus was confirmed on December 31 in China, and it has since been detected in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.