COVID-19: Thiruvananthapuram residents asked to avoid beaches, malls

Thiruvananthapuram Collector Gopalakrishnan has advised the residents of Kerala’s capital to not visit beaches and shopping malls amid fears of coronavirus pandemic. He has also asked for beauty parlours and gyms to avoid functioning. 

This comes in light of three people in the city testing positive for the coronavirus diseases – one person was a returnee from Qatar, another had returned from the United Kingdom, and the third person who has contracted the infection is an Italian citizen in a resort in Varkala.

The district administration has released flowcharts tracing the movements of two patients.

However, in a lapse, one the patients -- the man who had returned from Italy -- had self reported at the hospital, but was asked to go home by the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College after his samples were collected, though he had symptoms. The auto in which he travelled in has been traced and the driver too has been quarantined. 

A total of 19 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, apart from three who had earlier recovered from the infection.

Kerala has been on high alert, with many services suspended. Schools for all boards till class 7 have has been suspended, and all colleges except medical colleges are shut. Only examinations are allowed and classes cannot be held.

Movie theatres, eco-tourism centres are also shut. The state government has also asked for eligious bodies to not hold festivals, and for madrassas to not carry on with classes.

The government has cancelled all of its public programmes, and the Assembly session has been indefinitely adjourned; the biometric attendance in government offices has been temporarily discontinued. As schools and anganwadis are shut, mid-day meals are being delivered at home to the children by the government.

As of Friday evening there were 5,468 people under observation in Kerala, of which 5298 are placed under home quarantine, and others are in hospitals. 1,715 samples have been sent in for testing. 1,132 samples have come back negative.

India has recorded two deaths from the coronavirus disease to far – a 78-year-old man in Kalaburagi in Karnataka and a 68-year-old woman in Delhi. Universal screening is being done at airports in India, and most visas, except diplomatic ones, have been suspended by the Centre.