Thiruvananthapuram, April 01: All the participants of the Tablighi Jamaat at the Nizamuddin Markaz from Kerala have been identified and currently 60 of them are under observation in the State. This was disclosed by the Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan while addressing the media today. “We are constantly monitoring those who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat from Kerala, all of them have been quarantined and 60 are under observation. The situation is under control and there is no need for any concern”, he said.
*24 new Coronavirus cases in Kerala today, total 237 persons under treatment*
Kerala today reported 24 fresh Covid-19 cases taking the total number of patients under treatment to 237. Of the new cases, 12 are from Kasargod District, three from Ernakulam district, two each from Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kannur districts, and one from Palakkad district. Nine of the fresh cases were reported in those who returned from overseas and the rest got the infection from local contact. Today, one patient each from Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode districts have recovered.
Across Kerala, 1,64,130 persons are under observation. This includes 1,63,508 people under home observation and 622 in hospitals. 7,965 samples were sent for testing today and 7,256 reported negative.
Giving an overall picture of the patients since the outbreak of Coronavirus, the Chief Minister said, “Of the 265 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Kerala so far, 191 were non-resident Keralaites who came from other countries to the State, seven were foreign nationals (tourists) and 67 got the infection through direct (primary) contact. 26 patients including four foreigners have recovered completely from the Coronavirus disease.”
He also announced that the Kasargod Medical College hospital would be fully functional as a Covid care centre in the next four days. The Chief Minister has warned the people that those who violate the lockdown instructions would be booked under the provisions of the Kerala Epidemic Control Act 2020. This stern warning from the CM has come in the wake of an increase in the vehicular traffic on the roads during the last few days.
*Kerala CM requests people to increase milk consumption*
There has been a considerable decrease in the consumption of milk in Kerala since the lockdown was announced and the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) has reported a surplus of 1,80,000 litres milk.
Milma’s efforts to send the surplus milk to Tamil Nadu to convert it into milk powder had failed in the past few days. With the intervention of the State Government, Tamil Nadu has now agreed to accept 50,000 litres milk at the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (Aavin) plant at Erode. The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and the Government for making this arrangement.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has also appealed to the people of the State to increase their milk consumption and said that this would immensely benefit the dairy farmers during this crisis period. Efforts have also been taken to distribute Milma milk and other milk products through the outlets of the Kerala State Co-operative Consumers Federation (ConsumerFed) across the State. The surplus milk will also be distributed through anganwadis and the labour camps for migrant workers in the State. The State Government hopes to protect the dairy farmers through these initiatives.
*232 stranded European tourists evacuated from Thiruvananthapuram*
Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, “It is a matter of great satisfaction to the State that 232 EU nationals, who were stranded in Kerala due to the ban on international flights following the Coronavirus outbreak were evacuated from Thiruvananthapuram on March 31 by a special Air India chartered flight and they have reached their destinations safely.”
The Europeans, mostly Germans, were tourists stranded across 13 districts in Kerala. They were brought to Trivandrum through the intervention of the Kerala Tourism Department. The initiative led by the Embassy of Germany in India, the Hon’ble Consul General at Bangalore and the Honorary Consul at Thiruvananthapuram led to the successful repatriation of the tourists, after keeping them under quarantine for 14 days.
*Good response to the distribution of free ration*
The distribution of free provisions through ration shops started across the State today and the response was tremendous. Good arrangements were made for the distribution of ration and today 14.5 lakh ration card holders got the food grains. Over 21,472 metric tonnes of rice was distributed today. The distribution of free ration announced by the State Government would continue till April 20, 2020.
*Indian Embassy in Jordan to help stranded film makers*
The Chief Minister today announced that Indian Embassy in Jordan has assured that they will help the team of stranded filmmakers in Jordan. A Malayalam film crew of 58 people including director Blessy and actor Prithviraj are stuck in Jordan due to restrictions while they were shooting for a film project. The State Government had requested the intervention of the Union External Affairs Minister. The crew has sought assistance from Indian authorities for their safe return.
