Kerala hopeful of rolling out pre-flight Covid testing for Pravasies

Thiruvananthapuram, June 23: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today informed that the State is hopeful about the implementation of the mandatory pre-flight Covid testing for Pravasies at the earliest. The State Government had earlier extended the implementation of the pre-flight mandatory Covid-19 testing for those coming to Kerala from abroad till June 24.

Addressing the media, the Chief Minister said, “All possible measures should be taken to prevent the spread of the virus and as part of this, we raised the need to test the people who come from foreign countries. The state had written letters addressing this demand to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Accordingly, the MEA has been discussing this with missions in various countries regarding the testing of passengers in the Gulf countries. The Foreign Ministry has informed the State Chief Secretary about the progress of discussions.”

The Rapid Antibody Test is being conducted by the UAE. Qatar has a special mobile app that allows only people with green status on this app to travel. Kuwait currently has testing facility only at two terminals but it can be expanded to more terminals as per the requirement of the airlines. It would cost around Rs 1,000 per test. Oman has RTPCR tests only. The Embassy has approached private hospitals but it would be difficult to implement by June 25. In Saudi Arabia also, Rapid Antibody testing is being conducted in some private hospitals but it has not been approved by the government. The Foreign Ministry said that difficulties in Bahrain.

“We cannot compromise on the safety of those coming back to the State from abroad. The government is committed to repatriating all those who wish to return but we should avoid the spread of the virus during the flight. In this context, we are discussing with the central government to find out what best can be done in the interests of Pravasies. We expect a decision will be taken soon”, the CM added. As more flights arrive, more personnel will be assigned for checking the passengers at airports. Senior IAS-IPS officers will be given coordination of arrangement at airports.

Free provision kits for school children instead of mid-day meals

Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today announced a scheme to distribute free rice and provision kits to school children from pre-primary to class eight in government and aided schools. The scheme will benefit over 26 lakhs students in government and aided schools. The kits will be delivered by the first week of July.

“The government has been constantly intervening to ensure the food security of the people in spite of the crisis caused by the Covid pandemic. Several projects have already been implemented in this regard. Anganwadi children were provided with nutritional supplements at home. During the lockdown period, free rations were provided through ration shops. Food was supplied to households who had difficulty going to these shops. Free provision kits were also distributed. As a continuation of these activities, schoolchildren who used to benefit from mid-day meals programme will be given free provision kits”, said the Chief Minister.

The grocery kits would contain rice and nine other items like lentils, sugar, curry powder, salt, etc. An amount of Rs. 81.37 crores have been approved for this purpose.

141 new cases & 60 recoveries today, total 1,620 patients under treatment

Thiruvananthapuram, June 23: Kerala today reported its highest single-day count of 141 new Covid-19 cases. The new active cases were detected in 79 people who had come back from foreign countries and 52 who arrived from other states. Nine have got infected through primary contact and one is a health worker. At the same time, 60 patients under treatment for Coronavirus have recovered today.

Briefing the media, Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan said, “The numbers of Covid cases are increasing by the day. More than 100 cases each were confirmed in the last five days. The situation is getting serious. At the same time, people without symptoms testing positive and those getting infected with no known source of infection are a concern.” The Chief Minister also condoled the death of Vasantha Kumar, a native of Kollam district who had come back from Delhi. This is the 22nd Covid related death in the State.

The district-wise details of the newly confirmed case are 27 each from Pathanamthitta and Palakkad districts, 19 in Alappuzha district, 14 from Thrissur district, 13 in Ernakulam district, 11 from Malappuram district, eight in Kottayam district, six each from Kozhikode and Kannur districts, four each in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts, and two from Wayanad district.

The country-wise details of the 79 people who came back from foreign countries are Kuwait-40, Saudi Arabia-14, UAE-9, Qatar-6, Oman-5, Bahrain-3, Kazakhstan-1 and Nigeria-1. The 52 from other states are Delhi-16, Tamil Nadu-14, Maharashtra-9, West Bengal-2, Uttar Pradesh-2, Karnataka-2, Haryana-2, Andhra Pradesh-2, Madhya Pradesh-1, Meghalaya-1 and Himachal Pradesh-1.

15 patients from Malappuram district, 12 in Kottayam district, 10 from Thrissur district, six each from Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta districts, four in Kollam district, three each from Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts, and one in Kannur district are those who tested negative today.

So far, 3,451 Covid cases have been confirmed in Kerala and 1,620 patients are still under treatment across the State.

A total of 1,50,196 people are currently under surveillance in various districts of the state. Of these, 1,47,990 are under home or institutional quarantine and 2,206 are in hospitals. 275 persons were admitted to the hospital today.

4,473 tests were conducted today. 1,44649 samples have been sent for testing and the results of 3,661 samples are expected. 39,518 samples from high risk groups were tested as part of Sentinel Surveillance and 38,551 samples were negative.

Seven new places were declared as hotspots today while eight were exempted from the list. There are now 111 hotspots in Kerala.

“More than 100 patients are being treated in several districts - Malappuram (201), Palakkad (154), Kollam (150), Ernakulam (127), Pathanamthitta (126), Kannur (120), Thrissur (113), Kozhikode (107) and Kasargod (102). Of the 2,811 cases reported since May 4, 2,545 were in those who came back from other countries or states. The analysis of data from June 15 to 22 revealed that 95% of the total patients came from outside Kerala”, the CM added.

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