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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM :
Kerala has continued to maintain that it flattened the coronavirus curve, with only two new cases of expatriates reported and 16 active cases remaining in hospitals.
“On the 100th day of confirmation of the first COVID case, Kerala crushed the curve. There are only 16 active cases left in hospitals. We are preparing for the third wave,” tweeted state Finance Minister Isaac.
The two cases were those who returned from Dubai and Abu Dhabi on May 7 and were among expatriates airlifted through the Center as part of their mission to return stranded Indians abroad. Prime Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday that Kerala had flattened the curve, but warned that the state should be careful to avoid another wave of the deadly virus, but said it was ready to combat it in such an event.
Vijayan told reporters Saturday after the daily COVID-19 assessment meeting that with the two new patients, the total number of cases in the state has risen to 505 and there are currently 17 under treatment. “A patient from Idukki, who was under treatment, has been cured today. The two new cases are now under treatment in Kochi and Kozhikode. They arrived in the state on May 7 on flights from Abu Dhabi-Kochi and Dubai-Kozhikode respectively” . Vijayan said.
With the return of expatriates and also Keralites from other states, the number of people under surveillance has increased to 23,930, of whom 334 are isolated in hospitals, he said. The chief minister said 485 of the total 505 infected people in the state had been cured.
“The new cases being reported are a warning to those returning from abroad and other states to be on alert. We need to strengthen our mitigation efforts and preventive measures,” said Vijayan. The Chief Minister reiterated that entry passes are mandatory to enter Kerala through checkpoints that border neighboring states and those that do not have one will be returned.
Those who wish to come to Kerala must register through the Covid Jagratha portal and start their journey only after obtaining the pass, he said. “The pass is mandatory. According to logistics and crowd control, there is a limit on the number of people who can cross the border every day and passes are issued accordingly,” said Vijayan.
He said that there were some people who had reached the borders without the necessary documents and that it was not acceptable. So far, 54,262 passes have been issued and so far, 21,812 Keralites from other states have come home through five border checkpoints. Vijayan also said special nonstop trains would be brought from Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai to the state, to bring the stranded varalites back.
“We hope that the first train will be from Delhi to bring back the stranded students there. The date will be announced soon,” said Vijayan. The prime minister also said that 152 Riyadh expatriates in Saudi Arabia arrived in Kozhikode on Friday. In addition to 142 Keralites, there were eight from Karnataka and two from Tamil Nadu.
“There were 128 adults and 24 children, including 78 pregnant women. Of these, 114 were sent home and the rest were transferred to various Covid care centers,” said Vijayan. He said another flight from Bahrain to Kochi arrived on Friday with 181 passengers, in which there were 25 pregnant women and 28 children under the age of 10.
Three flights from Muscat to Kochi, Kuwait to Kochi and Doha to Kochi are expected to arrive in Kerala tonight. The prime minister also said that according to the recommendations of an expert committee, people coming from other states will first undergo a medical checkup and people without any symptoms will be sent home for 14 days of quarantine.
“If they show any symptoms, they will perform a PCR test and transfer them to Covid hospitals,” said Vijayan. So far, 36,648 samples have been sent for analysis, he said.
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