Spike in COVID-19 cases in Kerala; 19 test positive

Kerala reported a spike in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with 19 people testing positive, after a decline in the numbers in the past few days, as the total infections touched 426 in the southern state. Kannur, which has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot, recorded 10 cases, Palakkad four, Kasaragod three and Malappuram and Kollam one each, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.

The number of those getting infected were in single digits over the past few days. As of now, there are 117 active cases in thestate.

Of the 10 positive cases from Kannur, nine of them had come from abroad and one had been infected through contact, he said. Eight people, who had offered namaz at a mosque in New Mahe in the port town of Thalassery in Kannur district, were booked as they had violated lockdown norms, police said.

Four managed to escape, while remaining were arrested and sent to a COVID-19 care centre in Kannur, they said. Pointing out that the positive cases in Palakkad, Malappuram and Kollam had come from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Vijayan said there is need to enforce strict vigilance in places bordering neighbouring states.

Meanwhile, 16 people tested negative on Tuesday, taking the total number of cured cases to 307. "Seven out of the 16 cured were from Kannur district, four from Kasaragod, four from Kozhikode and one from Thiruvananthapuram.

There are 36,667 people under observation in the state where 332 are in isolation wards. The state has till now sent 20,252 samples for testing," Vijayan said. Kannur, bordering Kasaragod, has at least 53 active positive cases,including a 10-member family.

"Kannur now has the most number of cases in the state.Till now, the district had 104 cases. There is an incident in which ten members of a family were infected through contact," Vijayan said.

With increasein positive cases on Tuesday, the lockdown protocol will be implemented in a strict manner, and police will monitor whether the people are diligently following the restrictions imposed, he said. The 86 hotspots, spread across the state, will be completelysealed, Vijayan added.

Selected medical shops allowed by police will function in hotspots and essential materials will be supplied by government authorities,including local self-government institutions or the district authorities through the call centres. Pointing out that the spread of the deadly virus was "beyond comprehension", Vijayan mentioned a case of a 62-year-old woman from Pathanamthitta district who continues to test positive even in the "21st test result." "She contracted the disease when the Ranni family came from Italy and was admitted to hospital in the second week of March.She has been in the hospital for last45 days.

However, the patient is not having any other serious health concerns.This shows that we have many hurdles ahead of us and we need to be more careful," Vijayan said. The chief minister also said the state had made all arrangements in case the Centre allows the expats and other Keralites to return from abroad.

He said the public works department has identified 2,26,969 beds in the state out of which over 1.40 lakh are ready to use anytime. The Chief minister also appreciated the religious leaders who agreed to keep away from celebrations during the Ramzan festival on May 24.

Stressing the need and importance of being self-sufficient when it comes to the production of foodgrains, he warned the people to be prepared in case of a "possible shortage of food materials in the future in case the pandemic continues for more months." "We need to make sure that all the wasteland in the state be used for the purpose of farming and we need to achieve self-reliance in case the pandemic continues for more months. We need to take this step in case other states which provide us with vegetables and rice are unable to do so," VIjayan said.

Police registered 2,464 cases for lockdown violations, while 2,120 people were arrested and 1,939 cases were registered state-wide. The Department of Posts, Kerala circle, released a special postal cover to honour the COVID-19 warriors.PTI RRT UD BN WELCOME BN WELCOME