Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday announced that the state would be ramping up its efforts to increase the COVID-19 testing in the state.
He conveyed the message during a videoconference with the district collectors, police chiefs and medical officers in the state. Preventing community transmission and finding asymptomatic coronavirus patients is the main objective behind this move.
The decision comes amidst an increase in the COVID-19 cases in the state after a brief relief. Even random tests done on health workers to pick the scent of silent off-the-radar transmission have thrown up a positive result. What's more, it is becoming increasingly difficult, even impossible, for the government to trace back to the source of infection of many fresh COVID-19 cases in Kerala.
Reverse quarantine must be ensured when expats return to Kerala. Bath-attached quarantine facilities have to be arranged to ensure this, the chief minister said.
Kerala government will also increase the surveillance at the interstate borders to ensure that people from neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka do not enter the state illegally through side roads and forest paths.
The chief minister also added that meals must supplied to the public in red zones and hotspot areas. The state's health minister and revenue minister also took part in the video conference.
Kerala on Sunday reported 11 new COVID-19 cases, taking the number of active cases in the state to 123. Of the new positive cases, six are from Idukki and five from Kottayam.
