Kerala Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar tested negative for the novel coronavirus. However, the medical board has instructed him to remain under home quarantine for 14 days.
Sunil Kumar who is an elected representative from Thrissur went into quarantine in his official residence on Monday after he came in contact with a COVID-19 patient. The Minister, who is responsible for COVID-19 prevention in Ernakulam district, had held a meeting in Thrissur to discuss best practices to prevent the virus, on June 15. The patient who is a senior official from the Thrissur Corporation was one of the 13 persons who attended the meeting.
Soon after she tested positive, Sunil Kumar as well as his additional private secretary who was present at the meeting went into quarantine. A total of 18 people were asked to go into quarantine after the meeting. On Monday, the minister’s swab sample was collected and sent for testing.
Earlier in June, four sanitation workers from Thrissur had tested positive for the virus.
Among health workers who tested positive in the district are a 51-year-old from Chavakkad; a 30-year-old from Kuriachira and 34-year-old woman from Parappur were among the positive cases on Thursday.
Kerala reported 138 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the total number of patients under treatment to 1540. Of the new cases, Malappuram reported 17 cases, while 16 are from Palakkad, 14 in Ernakulam, 13 each from Kollam and Kottayam, 12 each in Alappuzha and Thrissur, 11 from Thiruvananthapuram, nine in Kasargod, five each from Kozhikode and Wayanad, four each in Pathanamthitta and Idukki, and three from Kannur.
Among the new patients, 87 are imported cases from foreign countries (Kuwait - 43, UAE - 14, Qatar - 14, Saudi Arabia - 9, Oman - 4, Bahrain - 1, Russia - 1 and Nigeria - 1) and 47 patients have returned from other states (Maharashtra - 18, Tamil Nadu - 12, Delhi - 10, West Bengal - 2, Uttar Pradesh - 2, Karnataka - 1, Andhra Pradesh - 1 and Punjab - 1).
The state has witnessed 1741 persons recovering from the virus as well as 23 deaths so far.