Kerala reported 14 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. Importantly, the new cases reported include three contacts and one health-care personnel, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
There has been a steady spike in cases in the State since Friday, with the maximum number of cases being reported from Kasaragod. The total number of patients currently under treatment in the State is 105. One patient had been discharged earlier.
Of the 14 new cases, six are from Kasaragod, two from Kozhikode and one each from Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Palakkad and Malappuram.
Apart from the healthcare personnel and three contacts, eight persons had come from Dubai and one each from Qatar and the U.K.
Another 8,140 persons were added to the COVID-19 surveillance network in the State, taking the total number under surveillance to 72,460. Of these, 71,994 are under home quarantine, while 466 persons with mild symptoms are isolated in hospitals.
The Chief Minister said the situation in Kasaragod, which has 44 out of the 106 cases, was a matter of grave concern. It is possible that community transmission had happened here even though documented evidence was yet to surface, he said.
He said that given the fact that COVID-19 transmission was quite active in most of the States across the country, persons coming to Kerala from other States would have to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine as a precautionary measure. These persons would have to go into the special isolation facilities that the State government had created. Everyone would have to fall in line with the decision of the government, Mr. Vijayan said.
He said that quarantine essentially meant confining oneself, away from everyone, including family members, in a self-contained room, where sanitiser, mask and soap should be ensured.
If those asked to go into quarantine do not have these facilities at their own home, they could opt to move on to the quarantine facilities readied by the State government. Mr. Vijayan, asked the local bodies to engage volunteers at ward-level and ensure that all sections of society were taken care of.
The safety of doctors, nurses, paramedics, field-level health workers and cleaning staff, who had been working hard to care for patients was of paramount importance. The public should remember their sacrifices with gratitude, he said.
More COVID-19 testing facilities are coming up in institutions such as the Central University, NIMS Hospital and IISER.
Exclusive COVID-19 hospitals would be readied in every district. Maternity hospitals would not be disturbed. Mr. Vijayan appealed to the youth to come forward to offer their services voluntarily to battle the pandemic.
