For the second consecutive day, Kerala reported over 30,000 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The state also reported 162 deaths, which pushed the death toll to 20,134. Authorities said that 68.11% of the national total on Thursday was reported from Kerala. However, the test positivity rate slightly dipped from the previous day at 18.03%. On Wednesday, it had crossed 19% as 31,445 new cases, compared to 30,007 on Thursday.
As Kerala is reporting the highest number of cases in the country, on Thursday, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reviewed the situation and the steps taken to contain the rapid spread in the state. A meeting was held through video conferencing with several top officials of the Union government and the state government. A central team, which visited Kerala recently, had also flagged issues relating to the containment strategy adopted by the state, another official said.
Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Thursday cautioned against the increased indoor transmission of COVID-19 at homes and urged people to strictly abide by the directives of the government to keep the disease at bay. Quoting a recent study by the Health Department, she said 35% of people in the state were found to have been infected with the disease from home. The present situation is that when one person in the house gets infected, the disease is transmitted to other members also, she said in a statement.
Blaming the violation of home quarantine directives for the situation, the minister said only those who have the required facilities at houses should prefer home quarantine and others should shift to domiciliary COVID-care centres (DCCs). George said that those under home quarantine should not step out of their room and asked all members of the house to wear masks to avoid risk of indoor transmission. No one else should use the utensils or other articles used by the patient, the minister said, adding that every member of the house should wash their hands using soap as a precaution. She also released a set of directives to be followed by the people to fight the disease.
PTI Inputs