Kerala closed off its border with neighbouring Karnataka on Friday in light of the coronavirus epidemic. The district administration of Kasaragod in Kerala closed as many as 12 roads with Karnataka on Friday.
District Collector D Sajith Babu told TNM that these are the minor roads that border the neighbouring state. The district administration’s decision came into effect immediately by Friday noon. “No vehicle will be allowed including passenger vehicles,” the collector added. A stringent inspection will also be carried out on the border including on National and State Highways, said the official.
Twelve more people have tested positive for the COVID-19 in Kerala Friday. With this the state’s total number of positive cases have jumped to 40. In Kasaragod, six people have now tested positive. Two of them have come to the state from Dubai, two others are their relatives.
The roads that are closed are Thoominad road in Manjeswaram, Kedampadi Padav, Sunkadakatte Mudipp, Kuruda Padav, Mudegadhe and Beripadav road. The roads also include Bediyadukka, Swarga Ariyapadav Road, Pallathur Eswaramangaladelampadi, Nattakkal Sullyapadav, Chennamkund and Chamakochi.
However, as the National and State Highways are not closed, the move to shut the 12 roads is unlikely to affect the movement of essential commodities between the two states.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu government has announced that the inter-state borders with Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh will be closed for vehicular movement until March 31. Only vehicles transporting essential items like medicines, milk, vegetables etc will be allowed to move between the states.
Kasaragod is the northern most district in Kerala. On Thursday, a confirmed case of coronavirus was reported from the district. The person who returned to Kasaragod from Dubai had contracted the virus.
On Friday, two MLAs of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Kasaragod MLA NA Nellikunnu and Manjeswaram MLA MC Kamrudheen decided to self-quarantine themselves after they came in contact with the coronavirus patient. The person had participated in a marriage function which was held on 14 March.
As of March 20, as many as 44,390 people are under observation for coronavirus in the state. While 44,165 people are in home quarantine, 225 people are in isolation wards in hospitals in Kerala.