Daily COVID-19 infections cross 28000 mark in Kerala govt to decide on curbs on Thursday
Thiruvananthapuram Jan 18 PTI The Kerala government on Tuesday decided to strictly implement the COVID-19 health protocols as there is a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the state which reported over 28500 new infections Kerala which had recorded 2435 new positive cases on January 1 witnessed a steady rise in the number of cases The daily cases increased to 5296 on January 7 On January 12 the daily infection rate went up to 12742 and the state reported 22946 fresh infections on January 17 The state government has informed that a decision on restrictions including the closure of colleges and offices and curbs on people traveling in public transport among other matters will be discussed and decided in the COVID-19 evaluation meeting to be held on Thursday The chief minister who is abroad for the purpose of treatment will chair the meeting online government sources said The functioning of the state secretariat here has been partially affected as a few ministers offices have been shut due to the spread of infection among the staff State General Education Minister V Sivankutty former minister and Kazhakootam MLA Kadakampally Surendran tested positive Sources in the police department said at least 650 members of the police force are down with the infection mostly those who returned after Sabarimala temple duty The KSRTC also has many of its staff down with COVID-19 affecting a few services Police officers of at least eight police stations in Thiruvananthapuram city and rural including Circle Inspectors and DySPs have been found infected As many as 24 security staff of the famed Padmanabha Swamy temple have also been tested positive As per todays health bulletin 215 health workers are also among the infected Including doctors 17 health workers tested positive and one nursing officer lost her life P S Saritha 44 a nursing officer from Varkala was tested positive yesterday but lost her life today the health ministers office said State capital Thiruvananthapuram has recorded 48 per cent of Test Positivity Rate TPR which means one in two persons tested here turns positive says state Transport Minister Antony Raju after an evaluation meeting There are nearly 7000 cases here The TPR is at around 48 per cent that means one in two persons tested turns positive This is a very serious matter and the guidelines issued by the District administration needs to be implemented strictly Stern action will be taken against the violators Minister said The evaluation meeting was held to discuss the situation in the state capital He said the number of people allowed for weddings is 50 and there are incidents in which more number of people are participating Higher Education Minister R Bindu said the government was considering a move to close down colleges and shift to online classes due to the worsening COVID-19 situation The college authorities have been asked to close down the college for 15 days in case a cluster is formed there the minister said in a statement There are 142512 active COVID-19 cases and the state capital has the most number of cases–36250 followed by Ernakulam with 21612 cases and Kozhikode and Thrissur districts with 14408 and 14407 cases respectively Meanwhile the state police informed that 344 cases were registered in the state on Tuesday for violating COVID-19 health protocols Cases were registered against 3681 people for not wearing masks Meanwhile the opposition Congress on Tuesday lashed out at the Left government saying there are more COVID-19 cases than the official numbers Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said currently the infection is spreading at a faster pace than that of the first and the second wave The health department is standing still during this pandemic The government has disbanded the COVID brigade Other than a warning from the health minister that COVID-19 will spread faster in two weeks the government has not taken any step to mitigate that Satheesan alleged The health department has decided to reopen the COVID-19 First Line Treatment Centres CFLTCs in the regions where clusters have been formed The state government had earlier informed that the students of class 1 to 9 will have online classes from January 21 after considering the worsening COVID-19 situation PTI RRT RRT SS SS
Thiruvananthapuram Jan 18 PTI The Kerala government on Tuesday decided to strictly implement the COVID-19 health protocols as there is a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the state which reported over 28500 new infections Kerala which had recorded 2435 new positive cases on January 1 witnessed a steady rise in the number of cases The daily cases increased to 5296 on January 7 On January 12 the daily infection rate went up to 12742 and the state reported 22946 fresh infections on January 17 The state government has informed that a decision on restrictions including the closure of colleges and offices and curbs on people traveling in public transport among other matters will be discussed and decided in the COVID-19 evaluation meeting to be held on Thursday The chief minister who is abroad for the purpose of treatment will chair the meeting online government sources said The functioning of the state secretariat here has been partially affected as a few ministers offices have been shut due to the spread of infection among the staff State General Education Minister V Sivankutty former minister and Kazhakootam MLA Kadakampally Surendran tested positive Sources in the police department said at least 650 members of the police force are down with the infection mostly those who returned after Sabarimala temple duty The KSRTC also has many of its staff down with COVID-19 affecting a few services Police officers of at least eight police stations in Thiruvananthapuram city and rural including Circle Inspectors and DySPs have been found infected As many as 24 security staff of the famed Padmanabha Swamy temple have also been tested positive As per todays health bulletin 215 health workers are also among the infected Including doctors 17 health workers tested positive and one nursing officer lost her life P S Saritha 44 a nursing officer from Varkala was tested positive yesterday but lost her life today the health ministers office said State capital Thiruvananthapuram has recorded 48 per cent of Test Positivity Rate TPR which means one in two persons tested here turns positive says state Transport Minister Antony Raju after an evaluation meeting There are nearly 7000 cases here The TPR is at around 48 per cent that means one in two persons tested turns positive This is a very serious matter and the guidelines issued by the District administration needs to be implemented strictly Stern action will be taken against the violators Minister said The evaluation meeting was held to discuss the situation in the state capital He said the number of people allowed for weddings is 50 and there are incidents in which more number of people are participating Higher Education Minister R Bindu said the government was considering a move to close down colleges and shift to online classes due to the worsening COVID-19 situation The college authorities have been asked to close down the college for 15 days in case a cluster is formed there the minister said in a statement There are 142512 active COVID-19 cases and the state capital has the most number of cases–36250 followed by Ernakulam with 21612 cases and Kozhikode and Thrissur districts with 14408 and 14407 cases respectively Meanwhile the state police informed that 344 cases were registered in the state on Tuesday for violating COVID-19 health protocols Cases were registered against 3681 people for not wearing masks Meanwhile the opposition Congress on Tuesday lashed out at the Left government saying there are more COVID-19 cases than the official numbers Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said currently the infection is spreading at a faster pace than that of the first and the second wave The health department is standing still during this pandemic The government has disbanded the COVID brigade Other than a warning from the health minister that COVID-19 will spread faster in two weeks the government has not taken any step to mitigate that Satheesan alleged The health department has decided to reopen the COVID-19 First Line Treatment Centres CFLTCs in the regions where clusters have been formed The state government had earlier informed that the students of class 1 to 9 will have online classes from January 21 after considering the worsening COVID-19 situation PTI RRT RRT SS SS
