Kerala reported 84 positive cases of the novel coronavirus and one COVID-19 death on Thursday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed that this is the biggest single-day spike seen in Kerala in the new spurt of cases, post the return of expats and Non-Resident Keralites in the state.
However, the number of cases transmitted through contacts remains low. Five of Thursday’s reported cases contracted COVID-19 from contacts in Kerala, while 31 of the cases were imported from abroad. 48 patients had returned from other Indian states.
These are positive patients who traveled from other states.
— Sreedevi Jayarajan (@Sreedevi_Jay) May 28, 2020
Maharashtra —- 31
Tamil Nadu —-9
Karnataka —- 3
Gujarat —- 2
Delhi —- 2
Andhra Pradesh —- 1
Here is a district wise breakup of Thursday’s reported cases:
Kasaragod —- 18
— Sreedevi Jayarajan (@Sreedevi_Jay) May 28, 2020
Palakkad —-16
Kannur —- 10
Malappuram —- 8
Thiruvananthapuram —- 7
Thrissur —- 7
Kozhikode —- 6
Pathanamthitta —- 6
Kottayam —- 3
Kollam, Idukki ans Alappuzha —- 1 each
Three people in Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur tested negative for the virus upon recovery. With this, the total cases in Kerala are at 1,088, while total cases under treatment are 526 and number of recovered persons are 555. A total of 210 people have been admitted to hospitals across the state on Thursday.
Six more hotspots— three in Kasaragod, two in Palakkad and Changanassery in Kottayam were added, taking the total number of hotspots to 82.
The COVID-19 death reported on Thursday was of a Telangana native. The man had taken a train from Jaipur on May 22 to reach Hyderanad but had instead, mistakenly, reached Thiruvananthapuram.
Fake BevQ app controversy
The highly-anticipated Kerala State Beverages Corporation virtual queue app (BevQ) for imported liquor sale through a tokening system was launched on Wednesday.
However, CM Pinarayi added that a fake application of BevQ had been made in the interim, which led to confusion among buyers.
“A hi-tech crime enquiry cell has been charged with investigating the issue. Whoever has been accused of making the fake application will be booked under non-bailable offence,” the CM added.
Within one day of the virtual queue opening, over 2,20,000 users have availed the application to purchase alcohol.
“There were some technical issues during the first day. The excise app has informed that these issues will be resolved and that the application will continue to function,” the CM added.
Schools hiking fees
Taking cognisance of reports that certain private schools in the state were deliberately hiking school fees for the year, CM Pinarayi asked schools to refrain from doing so.
“We heard that the school managements are demanding the receipt of the fees from parents before handing over school books and material for the coming year. Schools should not be troubling parents and children during such a time, and should instead arrange for alternate studying facilities,” he said.
Cleaning ahead of monsoons
The Chief Minister announced that May 30, 31 and June 6 and 7 would be dedicated for pre-monsoon cleaning in order to avoid water logging.
“This will be done with the help of local bodies, Kudumbashree, volunteers and with the cooperation of residents,” the CM added.