THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala tested two more positive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, taking the total number of cases to 24 including three discharged cases earlier.
The two positive cases include a UK citizen who was de-boarded from a Dubai-bound flight at the Cochin International Airport after he slipped away from a resort in Idukki. A doctor from Thiruvananthapuram, who came from a foreign country after a course recently, was also tested positive.
This is for the first time that a medical professional has been tested positive for COVID-19. At the same time, the health department clarified that the doctor had not caught the virus while treating but had arrived from a foreign country after completing a course.
The cumulative figure of those in surveillance in the state is 10,944. Of this 10,655 are in home isolation and 289 are in hospital isolation. The number of persons who were admitted in the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms is 68.
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Briefing the media, state health minister KK Shailaja said that the health condition of all positive cases including that of the elderly ones at Kottayam medical college is stable. She also added that a novel campaign named 'Break the Chain' has been launched with the help of Kerala Social Security Mission to sensitize the community on practicing hand hygiene.
The minister also added that the Indian Council of Medical Research has allotted another centre for testing samples. With this the number of testing centers for COVID-19 becomes four in the state. The new centre is Government Medical College (GMC) Thrissur. The other centers are the National Institute of Virology, Alappuzha and GMC Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.