Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said that the situation does not look good as 39 more coronavirus positive cases — the highest on a single day so far — were registered, taking the state’s total to 164.
He also termed the situation as serious, with all 14 districts in the state now having positive cases. Presently there are 110,299 people who are under observation including 616 at various hospitals.
Vijayan also gave out a call to all philanthropists to see how best they can contribute to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund as lots of funds are required.
“Discussions have begun to use medicines from Cuba, which is believed to be a good one to combat this outbreak and necessary guidelines have been given to the Drugs Controller to check on this,” he said.
Of the new cases Friday, 34 are in Kasargode, two at Kannur and one each in Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kollam. Of these, 25 came from the Middle East.
“With Kasargode registering more and more cases, certain stricter controls have to be brought in. All those who have returned from affected states and countries in the recent past have to get in touch with officials. And anyone with symptoms of cough, breathlessness and throat pain should get in touch with the health officials,” added Vijayan.
The Chief Minister also said that a situation has now evolved where the border with Karnataka appears to be sealed making life difficult for residents of Kasargode to move to Mangaluru for treatment, especially those seeking dialysis.
“The situation is such it is strange that they have blocked the borders using sand and stones, which is not a good thing. There might arise situation for either of the state to go this side or that side. Now we have been told that they will remove it, according to our Chief Secretary,” said Vijayan, adding that this will be brought to the attention of the Prime Minister.
He also said that directions have been given to all NBFC and other private banking institutions not to ask for monthly collections. Also no educational institution should demand any sort of fees or such things.
Following the strong message sent across by Vijayan, Friday saw a reduction in the number of cases filed by the police against those who came out on to the streets without a valid reason. The police today filed 1,381 cases while 1,383 people were arrested and 923 vehicles taken into custody for breaking the lockdown directives.
