Thiruvananthapuram: 506 people tested positive for coronavirus and 794 patients were cured of COVID-19 in Kerala on Thursday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed during his press conference at Thiruvananthapuram.
Of the positive cases today, 375 had contracted the disease through contact, of this, source of infection of 29 people could not be traced. While 31 came from abroad, 40 came from other states. Thirty-seven health workers also tested positive in the state on Thursday.
The state has reported 22,303 COVID-19 cases so far, out of which 12,159 persons recovered. The remaining 10,056 patients are being treated in various hospitals. The total number of contact cases in Kerala has risen to 12,119.
Two deaths were also recorded on the day – Kozhikode native Alikoya, 77, and Ernakulam native Bipathu, 65. With this, the state's death toll rose to 70.
Announcing Thursday's updates in his sunset media briefing, Pinarayi said the low number of positive cases is due to some technical issues related to ICMR web portal and that the list is incomplete.
District-wise breakup of today's positive cases:
Thrissur – 83
Thiruvananthapuram – 70
Pathanamthitta – 59
Alappuzha – 55
Kozhikode – 42
Kannur – 39
Ernakulam – 34
Malappuram – 32
Kottayam – 29
Kasaragod – 28
Kollam – 22
Idukki – 6
Palakkad – 4
Wayanad – 3
District-wise breakup of recoveries:
Thiruvananthapuram – 220
Kollam – 83
Pathanamthitta – 81
Ernakulam – 69
Thrissur – 68
Kozhikode – 57
Kottayam – 49
Kannur – 47
Palakkad – 36
Idukki – 31
Alappuzha – 20
Wayanad – 17
Malappuram – 12
Kasaragod – 4
Rubbishing the allegations against government's participation in containing the spread of the virus, the chief minister said the government's swift reaction to the pandemic situation helped to reduce the infections.
From when the first case was confirmed in the state on January 30, 2020, it took 168 days, or five-and-a-half months to reach the 10k-mark on July 16. However, it took only 11 more days to cross 20,000 cases.
Treatment at home
Asymptomatic COVID patients in Kerala can now avail treatment at home.
The decision was made amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in Thiruvananthapuram.
Patients may be treated at home, if they have a separate toilet facility which can be accessed by the patient. While doctors can allot patients for home treatment, ward level committees will assess the facilities available at their respective homes.
The new treatment will be implemented across the state only after a trial run in Thiruvananthapuram. It will be implemented in an experimental manner and only healthcare workers will be given this option in the initial stages.
The patient must have a bystander. The bystander must be in constant touch with health authorities during the course of treatment.
Home treatment is among the recommended modes of treatment listed by the ICMR.
Marriages, funerals
The chief minister restricted the number of people attending marriage celebrations to 20 after several cases turned out to be super spreaders. Pinarayi also said the duration of wedding functions will also be limited to three hours.
At least five people who attended a wedding at Trikaripur in Kasaragod district have tested positive for coronavirus with the authorities deciding to screen all participants.
Kasaragod reported 49 positive cases on Wednesday out of which 32 had contracted the virus through contact.
This is the latest in events such as weddings and funerals turning out to be COVID-19 spreaders in some places in Kerala.
More than 70 people had been infected after attending a marriage and a funeral in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts recently.
From the districts
Fifty-nine cases were confirmed in Pathanamthitta. Of them, 38 are contact cases. Those who tested positive include 13 people in Kumbazha cluster, 15 in Adoor cluster and one in Changanassery cluster. Four healh workers and three police personnel are among the positive cases.
Of the 53 cases reported in Alappuzha, 34 are contact cases. Source of infection is not known in five cases. Two of such cases were reported from Alappuzha while the remaining three are from Arookutty, Thuravoor and Pallippad.
In Kozhikode, 42 more people fell prey to the virus. Of them, 40 contracted the virus through contact. These include six cases without known source of infection - two from Kallayi and one each from Kozhikode corporation (division 38), Koyilandi, Koduvally and Kakkodi.
Total 39 cases were reported in the Kannur district. Twenty-four health workers at Government Medical College, Pariyaram, tested positive on Thursday. Two more people from the DSC cluster and one from the fire force cluster have also tested positive.
Of the 34 cases in Ernakulam, 31 contracted the disease through contact. The results include that of a Vazhakulam native woman who died on July 22.
In Malappuram, 32 more cases were confirmed. All but two of them are contact cases. Source has not been identified in nine cases. Such cases include a staff of an electrical shop at Kottakkal, a Perinthalmanna native who works at a Bevco outlet there and a woman who works at a textile shop at Kondotty.
Of the 29 cases in Kottayam, 28 are contact cases. Nine of them are from Athirampuzha panchayat and three each from Ettumanoor municipality and Kurichy panchayat.
Kasaragod reported 28 cases. There are 24 contact cases among them. Source has not been traced in three cases.
Twenty-two cases were confirmed in Kollam. Of them 14 are contact cases with source not identified in three. A Mayyanad native, who works as a conductor in Chengannur KSRTC depot, and a staff of Kunnathoor Primary Health Centre are among those tested positive.
Other key points from the CM's speech:
• The chief minister wished all believers on occasion Eid ul-Adha on Friday and warned that celebrations should be done with caution
• KSRTC will conduct long-distance services with strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines.
• Screen time of students attending classes online must be limited as it might lead to both physical and mental health issues.
• So far, 6,82,699 people came to the state since the relaxation of lockdown measures. Of this, 4,19,943 came from other states, while 2,62,756 people came from abroad.
• Fishermen in Kerala, including those in containment zones, can venture out to sea for fishing once the trawling ban is lifted. The 52-day trawling ban was came into effect on June 9 midnight. It ends on July 30.
• Auction of the fish catch will not be allowed.
• Those going into the sea must return to the same point only and shall not enter the land from other parts of the coast.
• Fishing will be allowed in containment zones also, but the catch must be sold within the zone. Travelling outside the containment zone to sell the fish will not be allowed.
