On Tuesday, four people tested positive for the coronavirus in Kerala. Interestingly, three of these positive cases are from a batch of random samples of asymptomatic patients that the state had sent to laboratories, as part of a new testing strategy.
On Monday, Kerala announced that it would begin random testing of asymptomatic patients. The new plan was devised to find ‘any undetected COVID-19 positivity among the general population of Kerala’. The state has taken more than 3000 random samples of asymptomatic patients in accordance to this new testing norm.
On Tuesday, out of 3101 random samples, three tested positive. 2682 samples returned negative for the virus, 25 of them have been sent for retesting and results of 391 samples are yet to be confirmed. These random samples are mostly taken from health workers, pregnant women, people with other health risks and those who work in places like markets that have higher interaction with other people.It is done in addition to those who will anyway be tested based on the current protocol in place in the state.
All the four positive cases have been reported from Kannur (3) and Kasaragod (1) districts, which are red zones. Following this, 151 new persons were admitted to hospitals for observation on Tuesday. With this, the total positive cases in the state are 485, Pinarayi confirmed.
Kasaragod recovers, Kottayam and Idukki on alert
The Chief Minister made a special mention of Kasaragod district, which had the state’s highest number of COVID-19 positive patients at one point.
“Kasaragod General Hospital has treated 89 patients who have now recovered. On Tuesday, the last patient too tested negative for the virus and has been discharged. It is a moment of pride for the 200 plus team of doctors and health workers at Kasaragod GH,” Pinarayi said.
Even as Kasaragod fares better, Kottayam and Idukki which were former green zones with no positive cases have now been placed on stringent lockdown, after 18 cases of the virus have now been reported from the two districts.
“In Idukki district, Karunapuram, Munnar and Edavattom panchayat have been marked as hotspots while in Kottayam, Melukavu and Changanassery have been declared hotspots. Kaladi in Malappuram and Alathur in Palakkad too have been added to the hotspot list,” Pinarayi added.
District borders of Idukki and Kottayam have been sealed and senior police officers have been made in charge to ensure lockdown compliance. Idukki has been classified into 5 zones with DYSP rank officials given charge of each zone.
Over 2 lakh NRI’s register to return home
The Chief Minister added that around 2,76,000 NRI Malayalis from over 150 countries have registered with NORKA roots to return home to Kerala, ever since the registrations were opened.
“From our preliminary calculations, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kannur will see the first influx of NRKs,” Pinarayi said.