Kerala’s COVID-19 graph continued to flatline, with just one person newly testing positive for COVID-19 and 10 others recovering from the disease on Friday.
Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India
Of 395 cases reported in Kerala so far, 138 were under treatment in hospitals. Except for two, the remaining 255 had recovered . The lone case reported on Friday was from Kozhikode, a contact of an imported case.
The number of persons currently under surveillance in the State was 78,980, of whom 526 are isolated in hospitals and the remaining 78,454 in home quarantine. The State has so far tested samples from 18,029 persons for COVID-19, of which, 17,279 were negative.
Public health experts pointed out that unlike other States, surveillance and tracking for COVID-19 was easier in the State as almost 70% of its reported cases had a history of foreign travel.
“All our attention is now poised towards managing the post-lockdown period, when we expect an influx of lakhs of Malayalis, all of whom will have to complete a monitored quarantine period in government facilities, before going home,” a senior health official said.
A.P. has 38 cases
Andhra Pradesh reported 38 new COVID-19 positive cases on Friday and the death toll stood at 14. The total number of cases reached 572 (523 active) from 534 (500 active) on April 16, the Health Department said.
Of the 38 new cases, 13 were from Kurnool, six from Nellore, five each from Anantapur and Chittoor, four each from Guntur and Krishna and one from Kadapa. Besides 523 persons were under treatment, 35 have been discharged. Guntur and Kurnool districts have 126 cases each, followed by Nellore (64), Krishna (52), Prakasam (42), Kadapa (37), West Godavari (34), Chittoor (28), Anantapur (26), Visakhapatnam (20) and East Godavari (17).
Telangana’s total cases stood at 766, of which 562 were active, 186 had been discharged and the death toll stood at 18.
Karnataka records 44
In another spike, a staggering 44 new positive cases were confirmed in Karnataka, taking total infections to 359, the Health department said on Friday.
The 44 new cases were a new daily high. “Today is a very negative day as far as the numbers are concerned,” Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar told reporters. “We have increased our capacity and we are testing more samples,” he said. Over 17,000 tests had been conducted, Mr. Kumar said.
On the pharma company, Jubilant in Nanjanagudu, Mysuru district, Mr. Kumar said 1,705 people were quarantined, 1225 were tested, and 61 were positive, while reports of 480 were awaited.
Meanwhile, with rising number of positive coronavirus cases in the state, the Karnataka government has decided to conduct tests on those displaying symptoms for the disease in districts that have not reported even a single case.
Eight districts COVID-19-free
Noting that doctors were of the opinion that it was necessary for those suffering with fever, cold, breathing problem to immediately undergo COVID-19 test, the government said a special app was being developed for this purpose.
In the wake of COVID-19 cases increasing during the last couple of days, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa held discussions with top officials and experts.
The Department of Health and Family Welfare has issued guidelines for Testing of Pooled Samples using RT-PCR with advisory by ICMR.
The government issued a circular for testing in private labs and fixed the cost at ₹2250. ICMR had purchased, 6,50,000 rapid tests kits nationally, of which Karnataka would get 12,400 kits.
(With PTI inputs)
