40 more test positive in Kerala, cases cross 1,000

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Covid-19 cases in the state crossed the 1,000-mark on Wednesday, with 40 more persons testing positive for the virus. The state has reported 1,004 cases so far, of whom 445 persons are under treatment now.
As many as 28 cases reported on Wednesday came from other states -- 16 from Maharashtra, five from Tamil Nadu, three from New Delhi and one each from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. Nine persons came from abroad while three got infected through contact.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 78,894 people have been put under home quarantine in the state from May 4-25, from among whom 468 cases of quarantine violation were reported and 453 cases registered.
Of these, officials found 145 incidents of violation during inspections, neighbours reported 48 incidents and mobile GPS tracking helped find 260 cases. "This shows that home quarantine is most effective here and the state has been demanding it. Now even the Centre has reconsidered its opinion on institutional quarantine," he said.
Vijayan said this Sunday would be observed as "cleaning day" as part of pre-monsoon measures to prevent the spread of epidemics. He asked the public and local bodies to clean their surroundings.
Palakkad (89) has the most number of cases now, followed by Kannur (84), Kasaragod (45) and Malappuram (44). As many as 10 of Wednesday's cases are from Kasaragod, eight from Palakkad, seven from Alappuzha, four from Kollam, three each from Pathanamthitta and Wayanad, two each from Ernakulam and Kozhikode and one from Kannur.
A total of 1,07,832 people are under observation in the state, of whom 892 are admitted to designated isolation facilities. Till date, 58,866 samples (including augmented samples) have been sent for tests, of which 56,558 came negative. Besides, 8,541 of the total 9,095 samples taken from priority groups as part of sentinel surveillance also tested negative.
Meanwhile, the test results of 10 Covid-19 patients under treatment have come negative. Seven of these patients are in Malappuram (including one from Alappuzha), two in Kannur (including a Kasaragod native) and one in Wayanad.
On people coming from other states, the chief minister said the state government had never opposed trains being sent to the state. "We have demanded that it should be informed well in advance and we should be given details of those coming by trains. Those coming back to the state should register themselves in the Covid-19 portal. This is to collect their details so that the government machinery can effectively monitor them," he said.