A Kerala man who recently recovered from COVID-19 was turned away by his family, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the press meet on Wednesday. Calling it deeply disturbing, the Chief Minister condemned the act.
"The man was fully recovered when he got back home, but his wife did not allow him inside. The district administration had to then arrange special accommodation for him," the CM said.
Pinarayi Vijayan said that such things happen due to ignorance or misunderstanding about COVID-19. He also said that the ongoing counselling and awareness programs should be made stringent to combat this issue.
"We have already talked about care to be given to people who undergo mental stress issues. Already there are 947 counsellors (who provide psychosocial interventions) for people.This will be expanded. Some news coming from the state is very disturbing. One family member of a man who was tested positive for COVID-19 died by suicide," said Vijayan.
The Chief Minister also said that many things are being propagated about COVID-19, in the state, which is fake. He reiterated that people should only take information released by the Health Department. All other information and messages should be ignored, he said. He also said that police are directed to block such fake information.
Mentioning the plight of the non resident Indians (NRI), many of whom stay in large numbers in shared rooms or camps, the Chief Minister said that embassies should arrange accommodation for those who have been told to go into quarantine.
Kerala reported 24 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday taking the total number of people under treatment to 237. Twenty six people have so far recovered from the disease, while two have succumbed to the pandemic.