Kerala's Covid-19 daily cases cross 30,000-mark again

The state health department is planning to enhance vigil on people coming from foreign countries

While the daily fresh Covid-19 cases in Kerala again crossed the 30,000-mark with 30,203 cases being reported on Tuesday, state Health Minister Veena George said that the ongoing post-Onam festival surge of Covid-19 in Kerala is not that high as projected by experts.

The state health department is also planning to enhance vigil on people coming from foreign countries in view of reports of new variants of Covid-19.

Over the last one week, daily fresh Covid-19 cases in Kerala have been hovering around 30,000 and the TPR has also remained around 20 per cent. The number of active cases in Kerala has also crossed the two lakh mark. Social distancing norms were flouted in the state during the last couple of weeks as the lockdown restrictions were eased in view of the Onam festival.

The health minister said that the present Covid-19 surge is within the state's control as it is below what was projected by experts. However, people should remain vigilant and those who have any sort of symptoms should undergo the Covid-19 test.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will be holding a meeting with public health experts on Wednesday to discuss steps to be taken to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Already a daily night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am and lockdown on Sundays have been imposed in the state. The state would go for further shutdown only as an extreme step as there was much resentment among the public, especially traders, as the lockdown that prolonged for nearly three months had badly affected the livelihood of the people. The health minister also said that while saving lives, livelihood also needs to be protected.