Ernakulam: A 67-year old person who passed away on Friday turned positive in Kerala on Monday, taking the death tally to 20, said the state's health minister KK Shailaja in a statement. The state has reported 82 new covid-19 cases and 73 recoveries, she said, taking Kerala's active cases to 1,348. The state has recorded 1,174 patients recoveries so far.
Kerala was the first state to report a coronavirus infection in India. It flattened the curve in April, but saw a return of the cases when international and interstate travel partially resumed. The pattern continued on Monday too— 49 of the fresh patients came from foreign countries and 23 came from other states. Nine persons infected the disease through contact. So far, 2,47,641 people have returned to the state from overseas and other states, Shailaja said. The state has tested 1,51,686 samples altogether so far, she said.
Meanwhile, the state relaxed protocols for short-term inbound interstate travellers on Monday. For short term visits of no fewer than seven days, travellers have to collect e-passes for visiting the state for priority needs such as education, business, healthcare, property management and court visits. These travellers are excepted from the mandatory home quarantine of 14 days, but will not be allowed to meet any person or go to any places other than the mentioned purpose for the travel. They are also banned from visiting public places or hospitals, unless willing to go into quarantine.
Meanwhile, the state added five more regions into its hot spots, taking the total tally of containment zones to 125. It had earlier extended the lockdown in containment zones until 30 June. Giving a district-wise distribution of new cases, Shailaja said, 13 fresh cases were identified from Ernakulam, 11 from Pathanamthitta, 10 each from Kottayam and Kannur, seven from Palakkad, six each from Malappuram and Kozhikode, five from Alappuzha, four from Kollam, three each from Thrissur and Kasaragod, two from Idukki and one each from Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad.
