Kerala records four new cases & two recoveries

TNN | Updated: Apr 19, 2020, 09:48 IST

MBBS students of Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on duty at the medical college ICU on Saturday. The convocation ceremony for this year’s batch of students, numbering to 250, which was to be held on Saturday, has been postponed

MBBS students of Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on duty at the medical college ICU on Saturday. The convoc...Read More

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Saturday, four more Covid-19 cases were reported in the state; three in Kannur and one is Kozhikode. While three of them had returned from UAE, one in Kannur contracted the disease through contact with a patient.
Two patients from Kasaragod recovered on Saturday after testing negative. “At present, 140 patients are under treatment in various hospitals. Till date, 257 persons have recovered and were discharged,” said health minister K K Shailaja. The health condition of those undergoing treatment is stable.
The number of persons who are under observation in Kerala decreased to 67,190. Among them 66,686 persons are in home quarantine and 504 persons are admitted to hospitals. On Saturday, 104 persons, who had symptoms, were admitted to hospitals for observation. Also, 18,774 samples were sent for testing, of which 17,763 samples tested negative.
Shailaja also announced the addition of four more labs to test Covid-19 in state. Labs at medical colleges of Ernakulam, Kottayam, Manjeri and Kannur can do real time-PCR test to identify the presence of coronavirus in samples. "Functioning of the lab at Ernakulam medical college began today. Other three labs are ready and will begin functioning once ICMR approval is obtained," she said.
With Ernakulam MCH in the list, as many as 11 labs in the state can now conduct Covid-19 testing. At first, only NIV in Alappuzha had the facility for testing. Two private labs in Ernakulam and Kozhikode are also conducting tests. State government has purchased 10 PCR machines for conducting Covid-19 tests.