THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thirty -two new positive cases, mostly from Kasaragod and Kannur, compounded the worries of the state on Monday when the elderly couple from Pathanamthitta recovered following a laudable effort by the Health Department. The couple, aged 93 and 88, was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam earlier this month after they contracted the virus from the three-member family who had returned from Italy.
Meanwhile, the fresh cases were reported from Kasaragod (17), Kannur (11) and Wayanad and Idukki (two each). Of them, 17 are imported cases and 15 their direct contacts. “There is no community transmission in the state. While 17 are imported cases, others are of those who came into contact with them. Their tests were done when they were under the Health Department’s surveillance,” CM Pinarayi Vijayan said.
While Kerala continued to be the hotspot, the second big spike in cases came from Uttar Pradesh, which reported 16 fresh infections. Karnataka reported five new cases. While reports put the total number of cases reported nationally to have crossed 1,200, the Union health ministry’s bulletin released at 10.30 am put the total number of confirmed cases at 1,071. At least five more deaths were reported on Monday from Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, taking the total toll to 37.