Kerala Covid-19 Tracker: 193 new cases & 167 recoveries today, total 2,252 patients under treatment

10 new hotspots, total 157

Thiruvananthapuram, July 06: 193 new cases of Covid-10 were confirmed in Kerala today even as 167 patients undergoing treatment for the infection tested negative. Giving details, the Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan also condoled the death of an 82-year old cancer patient at Manjeri Medical College who had returned after a Saudi visit and a 66-year old shopkeeper who died at Ernakulam Medical College.

In his comments, the Chief Minister said, “The number of cases through contact is increasing and this is a matter of concern. The number of tests conducted is being increased.”

35 people in Malappuram district, 26 from Pathanamthitta district, 25 in Ernakulam district, 15 each from Alappuzha and Kozhikode district, 14 in Thrissur district, 11 each from Kollam and Kannur district, eight each in Palakkad and Wayanad districts, seven from Thiruvananthapuram district, six each from Kottayam, Idukki and Kasargod districts are those who tested positive with the infection.

92 of the new active cases are those who returned from foreign countries (UAE 38, Saudi Arabia 20, Kuwait 11, Qatar 9, Oman 8, Yemen 2, Malaysia 1, USA 1, Moldova 1 & Ukraine 1) and 65 from other states (Karnataka 28, Delhi 9, Tamil Nadu 7, Telangana 6, Maharashtra 6, Punjab 1, Andhra Pradesh 1, Bihar 1, Chhattisgarh 1, West Bengal 1, Odisha 1, Rajasthan 1, Arunachal Pradesh-1 & Madhya Pradesh-1.)

35 cases are infection through contact - 17 persons in Ernakulam district, six from Kozhikode district, four in Thiruvananthapuram district, three from Malappuram district, two in Kollam district and one each from Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Palakkad districts.

Of the 167 patients whose test results were negative today, 33 are from Palakkad district, 27 in Pathanamthitta district, 16 each from Ernakulam and Thrissur district, 13 in Malappuram district, 12 from Kasaragod district, 11 in Kottayam district, 10 each from Kollam and Kannur districts, Seven each in Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha districts, and five from Kozhikode district.

The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Kerala is 5,624 and 2,252 patients are now undergoing treatment for the same.

A total of 1,83,291 people are currently under observation in various districts of the state. Of these, 1,80,316 are under surveillance in home or institutional quarantine and 2,975 are in hospitals. 384 people were admitted to the hospital today.

In the last 24 hours, 9,927 samples were tested. A total of 2,75,823 samples have been sent for testing and the results of 4,179 samples are yet to come. In addition, as part of Sentinel Surveillance, a total of 60,006 samples were collected from priority groups with high public contacts and 57,804 samples were negative.

10 new places were designated as hotspots today and six places have been excluded from the list. There are currently 157 hotspots in Kerala.

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Kerala implements contact tracing with good results: CM

Thiruvananthapuram, July 06: Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today informed that Kerala has been able to effectively use contact tracing when a person is tested positive for Covid-19.  In the State, the source of infection is not known in less than 2% cases only while the national figure is 40%.

Addressing the public through social media due to triple lockdown in the capital city, the Chief Minister said, “Out of the 4,442 cases reported till May, the sources of infection could not be found initially in 116 cases but they were later traced in 125 cases. Investigations are going on to trace the source of infection in the remaining 41 cases also and we are hopeful of doing that in 23 cases where there are leads but in 18 cases, the source may remain unknown. Contact tracing has been made possible due to the exemplary work done by the Health Department, Police and LSG bodies. It goes without saying that we need to strengthen contact tracing. Everyone who goes out should maintain a record of the place they went, the people they met, including the time. This would help in tracing the contacts, in case someone they met turns out to be infected at a later stage.”

The CM also informed that of the 5,429 cases confirmed in Kerala till July 05, 4,755 cases were found in those who came back from outside the State - 3,328 who came from abroad and 1,427 who returned from other states. Malappuram district had the maximum number of 591 such cases followed by 580 in Palakkad district and 485 in Kannur district. Of the 524 cases of local transmission through contact, Kannur district accounted for the maximum of 109 cases followed by 93 in Kasargod district and 72 in Thrissur district.

As a part of strengthening the Covid preventive measures, testing will be increased in places bordering the neighbouring states. Further, daily travel across the State borders would not be permitted. People who go to the neighbouring state for work or come to Kerala for work on a daily basis will have to take up residence at their place of work to avoid daily travel.

The Chief Minister also added that triple lockdown was enforced in Thiruvananthapuram as the number of cases through contact was increasing. Moreover, as the capital city, the presence of a large number of offices and people who come here from other places for official work were the other factors. “We understand the situation is serious here. If it is not controlled now, the situation might get out of control. That’s why triple lockdown was implemented before any community spread. Everyone who has a symptom will be tested. A multi-pronged strategy has been implemented to control the spread of the virus outbreak.”

Meanwhile, based on the review today, the triple lockdown in Ponnani taluk in Malappuram district will end tonight.