THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Total of 57 Covid-19 positive cases were reported in the state on Monday. Of these, 55 were returnees, one a healthcare worker and another a staffer with Air India. On the day, 18 persons recovered from the illness. Five places were declared as hotspots, taking the tally of hotspot areas to 121. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said with more relaxations in place, reverse quarantine (the practice of detaching the most vulnerable people from the general public) will be implemented strictly.
While saying that the possibility of transmission of the virus is low in the state, he reiterated that the state is yet to enter the third stage (community transmission) of the outbreak. “Gatherings of any kind can’t be allowed. Especially that of the vulnerable group. Of these, the elderly should take special care from such crowding as it increases the chances of infectivity. Thus reverse quarantine will be strictly implemented,” said the CM.
Comparing the state’s strategy for containing Covid-19 with those of national and international levels, the CM said that the lowest mortality rate is due to the existence of a decentralized public health system in the state. He said the state’s basic reproduction number (an indication of the transmissibility of a virus, representing the average number of new infections generated by an infectious person in a population) is just 0.45 percent, while the international average is 3. On reports of some cases where the epidemiological linkage remains absent, the CM said it couldn’t be assumed as an indicator of community transmission.
Monday’s positive cases were reported from Malappuram and Kasaragod (14), Thrissur (9), Kollam (5), Pathanamthitta (4), Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam (3 each), Alappuzha and Palakkad (2 each) and Idukki (1). The negative cases were from Malappuram (7), Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam (3 each) and Pathanamthitta, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur (1 each). The newlyadded hotspots are Akathethara, Thirumittakode and Marutharoad in Palakkad and Alakode and Muzhukkunu in Kannur.
CM’s reply to Oppn Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Oppostion leader Ramesh Chennithala was belittling himself by raising baseless allegations. He was replying to Chennithala’s comparison of the CM’s daily press meet with TV show Badai Bungalow.