Even as the number of positive cases of COVID-19 seems to be stabilising in the State, there is no way the State can let up on either the vigil or the massive levels of preparedness that has been going on to meet the worst that the pandemic might bring, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
The State’s surveillance, testing, and preparations would continue at the same pace regardless of the COVID-19 case numbers as the pandemic has so many unknowns and no health system could afford to be caught by surprise, he said while briefing the media here on Wednesday.
Nine new positive cases of COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday in the State.
Four of these cases were people who returned to the State from abroad, two cases were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat meeting at Nizamuddin and rest are contacts of imported cases of infection.
Of the nine new cases, four are located in Kannur, two in Alappuzha and one each in Kasaragod, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur.
Mr. Vijayan said the Sate had identified 212 persons to have travelled to Nizamuddin from the State, out of whom 15 have so far turned out to be COVID-19 positive. The total number of cases reported so far in the State is 345, while 259 were currently under treatment at various hospitals.
The test results of 13 patients who were under treatment had turned negative on Wednesday.
The number of persons kept under surveillance in the State has now come down to 1,40,474. Of this, 749 are in isolation rooms in various hospitals and the rest are on home quarantine.
Mr. Vijayan said there would be no situation of a shortage of testing kits in the State, with 20,000 kits supplied by ICMR reaching the State on Thursday.
He said that in Kasaragod only those patients who cannot have their treatment elsewhere should attempt to go to Mangalore seeking health-care. Doctors have been readied in Kasaragod border area and patients would have no problem in getting ‘COVID-19’ certification.
Mr. Vijayan said there were news reports about hospitals facing shortage of blood and appealed to all voluntary organisations involved in blood donation to intervene. He said that mobile blood collection units could be arranged.
He warned people against disposing of used masks and gloves carelessly on public roads, which could create serious health issues later as the SARS-CoV-2 virus can stay alive on such surfaces for a few hours.