Burdened, but fighting to contain coronavirus, says Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state government has intensified monitoring and surveillance as more people have started arriving from abroad and the total number of people under observation has risen to 12, 740.

Three more Covid-19 cases were reported from Kerala on Monday taking the total number of positive cases to 24 in the state, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan added 12, 470 people have been quarantined in their homes and 270 admitted to the various hospitals. (Anushree Fadnavis/HT Photo)

He said the state government has intensified monitoring and surveillance as more people have started arriving from abroad and the total number of people under observation has risen to 12, 740. Vijayan added 12, 470 people have been quarantined in their homes and 270 admitted to the various hospitals. “We have controlled the pandemic in the first stage. The results were there to see. But now people have started coming from many countries and we are overloaded. But there is no need to panic as we have strengthened our vigil,” he said.

Vijayan said tourism, public transport, shops, and business establishments have been affected because of the outbreak and asked people to be a little patient to overcome the major challenge. He said the government has decided to screen domestic passengers and those leaving for aboard to check further spread of the disease.

The government plans to deploy more doctors and medical staff at four international airports and convert its facilities and other properties near airports into quarantine centres.

Sri Chithira Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) in Thiruvananthapuram has separately been partially shut after one of the doctors, who returned from Spain on March 1, was tested positive.

The doctor joined duty two days after he returned. Though he disclosed his travel history, he was asked to join work as he did not show any symptoms. He fell ill on March 13 and tested positive on March 15. As the issue triggered outrage, the SCTIMST said the Union health ministry directive did not specify Spain as the high-risk country earlier.