Kasargod reports 6 new COVID-19 cases; Kerala tally rises to 5622

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s COIVD-19 tally on Monday touched 5,622 with 193 fresh cases being reported, as the death toll rose to 27 with two more people succumbing to the virus.

Of the positive cases, 92 had come from abroad and 62 from other states, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said addressing the media online from his residence as triple lockdown has been imposed in the state capital since this morning.

Thirty-five have been infected through contact. The two deceased are a 82-year-old man, who had returned from  Saudi Arabia recently and was suffering from cancer, and a 66-year-old man, under treatment at the Ernakulam Medical college hospital.

Vijayan said community spread was a threat and the government was taking various steps to prevent it, including  triple lockdown and widespread testing.

The triple lockdown has been imposed for a week in Thiruvanathapuram since this morning. All government offices, private establishments are shut and public transport is off the roads.

Giving the break-up of cases, Vijayan said Malappuram recorded 35 cases, Pathnamthitta26, Ernakulam 25, Alappuzha and Kozhikode 15 each, Thrissur 14, Kollam and Kannur 11 each, Wayanad and Palakkad eight each, Thiruvananthapuram seven, Kottayam, Kasaragod and Idukki six each.

The number of active cases in the state has touched 2,252. Today, 167 people have recovered. About 1.83 lakh people are under observation and 2,075 in hospitals, including 384 admitted today.

In the last 24 hours, over 9,000 samples have been taken for testing. So far, 2,04,452 samples have been sent for testing.

Vijayan said testing will be intensified in the border areas, especially in Manjeswaram in Kasaragod district,
where everyday people are going to Mangaluru in Karnataka on a daily basis. This is causing the spread of the virus, he said, adding daily travel in this manner cannot be allowed.