Yet another dozen cases of COVID 19 surfaced in the State on Saturday, all of which could be traced to Gulf nations, taking the total number of positive cases reported in Kerala in the second wave to 49. This is the second consecutive day when cases in double digits were being reported in the State.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, briefing media on Saturday, said three patients were natives of Ernakulam, six from Kasaragod and three from Kannur. They have been isolated in Government Medical College Hospital, Ernakulam; General Hospital, Kasaragod; and General Hospital, Thalassery, and General Hospital, Kannur; respectively. The number of persons under surveillance in the Sate has swelled to 53,013, with 8,623 persons additionally being put in the surveillance network on Saturday. The number of persons in isolation wards in hospitals is 228.
Surveillance cases up
The number of persons being put on surveillance has seen a tremendous jump ever since universal screening was introduced in airports and anyone coming from abroad had to mandatorily undergo 14-day self-quarantine. Mr. Vijayan expressed his happiness and relief that the State government’s directives to religious denominations to avoid mass gatherings for prayers, festivals and rituals were being observed in letter and spirit. He said almost all Muslim and Christian religious leaders and the Travancore Devaswom Board had agreed to adopt crowd control measures in their institutions of worship and put on hold mass pilgrimages and festivals till March 31.
Restraints are also being introduced at Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple, Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple and Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple. The Sabarimala temple would open on March 28, but pilgrims will not be allowed entry.
The Chief Minister said that at a time when the Sate was trying to tide over a health emergency, it was unfortunate that some persons were not taking the government directives seriously. They would have to face stringent legal action, he said.
He said the government was forced to adopt unprecedented measures in the interest of the State and society because even developed nations such as Italy had been ravaged by the virus. It was essential that people maintain social distancing to prevent transmission of COVID-19. He said the government would give more attention to surveillance and quarantine. Those persons whose domestic situation might not facilitate strict home isolation could opt to stay in a government facility till he/she completed the quarantine period.
Private labs
Mr. Vijayan said private laboratories in the State which had the facility to run RT-PCR tests would be included as testing centres.
