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No fresh coronavirus cases but can’t sit idle, says Kerala CM
Kerala currently has 27 positive cases of coronavirus. Two of them are foreigners.
Strict monitoring, social distancing and surveillance have started yielding some results in Kerala as no fresh case of coronavirus was reported for the second consecutive day but the number of people under observation rose sharply to 25,603 on Wednesday, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“The situation is under control now. But we can’t sit idle. There are chances that it may aggravate at any time. We have to be alert and the government will do everything possible to check further spread,” he said.
The CM said religious leaders have pledged all support to the government and he appealed people not to attend large gatherings, festivals and other functions in view of the delicate situation.
Kerala currently has 27 positive cases of coronavirus. Two of them are foreigners. The total number of infections in the country rose to 151 on Wednesday.
As part of the social distancing, Vijayan held his press conference in an open space.
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Among those under observation in the state, 25,306 are in their homes and 237 in different hospitals. More than 2550 samples have been tested out of which 2140 wre negative while the results of 400 people are awaited, the CM said.
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“Now the virus has been reported in 159 countries. Death rate is also going up steadily. In Kerala we want to confine it to imported cases. For this voluntary disclosure and social distancing are important,” he said.
Vijayan said the Kerala High Court and Supreme Court have lauded the state’s initiatives and they will act as a boost to health workers and others who toil day and night. The SC has lauded the state’s initiatives to deliver free mid-day meals to children at their homes while hearing a plea in this regard on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, bankers on Wednesday made a commitment to the state government that they will announce a year’s moratorium on farm and small-scale loans in view of the situation. The volatile situation has affected daily wage earners, small-scale units, tourism and auto and taxi drivers and traders badly.
Kerala was the first state to report the virus in January when three students who returned from China contracted the virus. They later recovered and were discharged before a spurt of new cases earlier this month.
