Kerala continued the trend of having more people on the recovery list than on the sick list, with nearly four times the number of new COVID-19 positive cases figuring on the recovery list on Thursday.
While there were seven new COVID-19 cases on the day, the number of patients who recovered from the disease was 27.
Five of the new COVID-19 cases are people who returned from abroad while two others had developed the disease through contact with imported cases. Four of the new cases are reported from Kannur, two from Kozhikode and one case is from Kasaragod.
Of the 394 cases of COVID-19 reported by the State so far, only 147 are currently undergoing treatment. Except for two deaths, the remaining 245 people have all recovered from the disease.
Among those who recovered are two Junior Health Inspectors who had contracted COVID-19 while on duty at the Cochin international airport.
The number of people put under surveillance by the State has come down to 88,855, out of which, only 532 are admitted to isolation wards, while the rest are all in home quarantine.
17,400 samples tested
The State has tested samples from 17,400 persons so far, with 16,459 samples turning out be negative for COVID-19.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who briefed media about the day’s developments, said the State was able to send back 268 British tourists who had got stranded in the State following the lockdown. The group included the seven British nationals who had been treated for COVID-19 at the Government Medical College Hospital, Ernakulam.
District-level plans
He said that every district had been asked to prepare its own COVID-19 containment and mitigation action plan, which had to be implemented by the local self-governments along with the Health Department.
The local bodies should have a special plan of action on how they would manage the local hotspots in their jurisdiction
Mr. Vijayan said all patients who had been discharged after COVID-19 treatment and their family members should remain in quarantine for another 14 days in their own homes and avoid social interaction with others. This was something the local bodies would have to monitor and ensure.
Hospitals, clinics, laboratories and physiotherapy units could all open and function as usual.
Role for local bodies
The local bodies should also put a permanent system in place so that they could monitor the vulnerable groups (those above 60 years and those suffering from chronic ailments) in society and ensure that they got medical attention.
District Collectors and district medical officers should call a meeting of private hospitals and seek their cooperation in running telemedicine facilities and mobile medical units to reach across to vulnerable groups.
The Chief Minister also reminded the local bodies to take the message of the importance of pre-monsoon cleaning to all homes so that the looming threat of infectious diseases outbreaks was not ignored in the frenzy over COVID-19.
