E-Paper
With 339 new Covid-19 cases, Kerala logs highest single-day surge, critical phase says CM
Out of the 339 new cases, 133 contracted the disease through local contacts, 117 came from abroad 74 from other states. The state has pressed the emergency button after locally- transmitted cases surged.
Some areas of Kerala are on the verge of community spread after a big surge in locally- transmitted cases, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday adding the state was going through a critical phase.
With 339 new Covid-19 cases, the highest since the outbreak began; the total count went up to 6,534. Among this active cases are 2,295 and recovered patients are 3,710. The state has reported 29 coronavirus deaths so far.
Out of the 339 new cases, 133 contracted the disease through local contacts, 117 came from abroad 74 from other states. The state has pressed the emergency button after locally- transmitted cases surged.
“According to World Health Organisation norms super spreading has occurred in some places including the fishing hamlet Poonthura on the outskirts of the state capital. If we lower our guard next is community spread which is round the corner,” said the CM adding the government was forced to enforce triple lockdown in the state capital after the situation worsened. He said the number of daily tests will be increased in the coming days.
“Those who are on reverse quarantine are most vulnerable. They should heed the guidelines strictly. One tiny fault will derail all our efforts,” he said adding if the contact cases rise at the same pace community transmission will be imminent.
Reverse quarantine is a practice of detaching most vulnerable people, aged or people with co-morbidity conditions, from the rest and monitoring their health indicators closely-- a method of protecting vulnerable people from getting the infection.
