COVID-19: Kerala Records Highest Recoveries, Zero Cases In A Day

While 19 of those who recovered from COVID-19 were from Kannur district, 12 were from Kottayam, 11 from Idukki, nine from Kollam, four from Kozhikode, two each from Malappuram, Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said during his daily press briefing. Furthermore, three more districts – Kozhikode, Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram - have now become coronavirus-free.

The state has so far tested 33,010 samples, of which 32,315 have returned negative. At present, 21,724 people have been kept under observation, of which 372 are under isolation in various hospitals and the rest are under home surveillance. Those under surveillance are largely the primary and secondary contacts of those who have tested positive for the virus.

In addition to those being screened and tested for foreign travel and contact history, in the last couple of days, the state health department has been testing samples as part of 'sentinel surveillance.' Under this, testing is being carried out among health workers, police officials, migrant workers, grocery vendors and other high-risk groups. As many as 2431 samples have so far been covered as part of this.

Kerala has been at the forefront in the battle against the deadly virus and has been setting an example in its containment strategies. The southern state had initially reported a high number of cases and was at the top of the list of the states with the maximum number of COVID-19 cases. However, today, the state is at the 15th position and 392 or 78 per cent people have recovered.

Lauding the state's efforts, Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, chief of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at ICMR had said, "Kerala is offering one of the best containment strategies and it is unparalleled. So we will continue to refer to the Kerala Model as far as testing and containment strategies are concerned."

The biggest challenge for the state right now is the thousands of expatriates who will be flying to the state from May 7. The state has readied quarantine facilities to quarantine those who are symptomatic on arrival. Meanwhile, asymptomatic people can return home and has to remain under quarantine for the next 14 days.

The state has already started receiving those who were stranded in other states in the country. They also have to undergo compulsory home quarantine for 14 days.