Kerala reported 24 new positive cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, nine of which are cases of people who had returned to the State from Dubai and Sharjah while the rest were all primary contacts of the imported cases.
Of the 24 new cases, 12 were reported from Kasaragod, three from Ernakulam, two each from Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kannur, and Malappuram, and one case from Palakkad.
Till date, the State has reported 265 cases of COVID-19, out of which, 237 are currently under treatment in various hospitals.
Briefing media, Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan said that of the 265 COVID-19 cases reported by the State so far, 191 were imported cases (disease imported by people with a history of foreign travel or expatriates who returned to the State), while 67 cases were reported in the primary contacts of imported cases. Seven cases were that of foreigners who were tested positive while in Kerala.
Twenty-six people, including four foreigners, have since recovered from their illness and have been discharged while two people lost their lives.
At present, 1,64,130 people are under surveillance, of whom 622 are in isolation wards in various hospitals.
Mr. Vijayan said that in the next four days, Kasaragod Medical College Hospital would be fully equipped as a dedicated COVID care centre.
He said that the Health Department would be strengthening the mental health services and providing counselling online to people in quarantine. These steps were required to combat the issues of stigma and discrimination faced by some over their COVID-19 positive status as well as the misinformation campaign involving the disease
He added that the Health Department was making arrangements to ensure that vaccinations for children would go ahead without interruption.
Mr. Vijayan said that the current lockdown was definitely helping in imposing physical distancing and reducing social interactions and that this would help the State in its efforts to contain the epidemic.
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