Slight Dip In COVID Positive Cases In Kerala

Kerala Witnesses Decline In New Covid Cases

Kerala had a slight relief on Friday with the state recording 885 Covid-19 positive cases after breaching the 1000 mark for the past two days.

Another relief came as 968 patients recovered from the virus on a single day.

However, the state is waging a grim battle; the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram recorded 167 cases and the clusters in the costal belt seem to be spreading to new areas.

“The virus is fast spreading from the clusters in Thiruvananthapuram and Aluva,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media.

At present there are five big clusters, mainly along the coast.

Kozhikode recorded 82 cases, Ernakulam 69 and Palakkad 58.

Another source of worry is the spread of the virus in convents with nuns getting infected. Similar is the case in care homes. “This is worrying us,” the CM said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister held an online all-party meeting on the issue of imposing a lockdown. While Health Minister Shylaja Teacher favoured a lockdown, there was stiff opposition from within the Cabinet and major political parties. Medical experts also do not favour a lockdown.

The Opposition Congress party said that the containment zones may be locked down, but not the whole state. This will be an economic disaster and will hit the daily wage-earners badly, the party said.

A decision on the lockdown will be taken on Monday.

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