No fresh cases in Kerala, monitoring of people reaching by road & rail to be strengthened:CM Pinarayi Vijayan

No fresh cornonavirus cases were reported in Kerala on Saturday, as the government decided to strengthen monitoring of people who reach the state by rail and road, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Vijayan, who chaired the daily evaluation meet here, told reporters that a total of 302 people are in isolation wards in hospitals across the state.

"A total of 7,677 people are under observation in the state, out of which 7,375 people are under home quarantine and 302 are in isolation wards across the state. Out of the total of 1,897 samples sent for testing, 1,345 tested negative," the Chief Minister said. Coronavirus care centres would be set up near airports in the state, he said.

The restrictions imposed have succeeded in limiting the spread to a certain extent, Vijayan said, adding that a set of volunteers would be enrolled to aid the health department and they would be given special training by the officials. "A special team will monitor all the passengers of inter-state trains at the first station inside Kerala borders.

The team will comprise one paramedical staff, a policeman and a local volunteer and they can examine two bogies at a time. For example,if there are 12 bogies for a train,there will be six such teams to examine all passengers," Vijayan said. The train passengers would also get an SMS alert, saying they would be checked at the first station the train touches after entering Kerala.

The state government has also identified 24 points in the border road areas of Kerala from north to south and a separate team, headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) will monitor those who travel by vehicles. "We know that all these restrictions pose so much trouble to the people. But since we are going through an extraordinary situation,we request everyone to cooperate with the officials.

It's in the best interests of the state and the people," Vijayan said. The Chief Minister said the government would also instruct state-run transport services to clean the buses and maintain hygiene. "We have asked the officials to visit migrant labour camps in the state and create awareness among them by using those who can speak their language.

We have also given instructions to keep their localities clean," Vijayan said. Private hospitals have been asked to set aside a certain number of beds in case of an emergency. "We are in the process of arranging more medical equipment for this purpose," the Chief Minister added.

With three positive coronavirus cases being reported from the state capital, including an Italian who was staying at a resort at Varkala beach,the Kerala government Saturday imposed restrictions on visitors' entry at malls, gyms and beaches and warned people not to venture out of their homes,unless needed. Health department officials have instructed the resort to shut down and the employees have been kept under observation.

The government has also directed resorts in the district not to allow foreign tourists staying there to venture out. Though the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has sought shutting down of liquor and beverages outlets, the government said it was not practical as there was a possibility of people going in search of spurious products.

Beverages outlets will not be closed as of now. So far 19 people have tested positive for the virus, including the three from Thiruvananthapuram. The government had earlier shut schools and colleges and cancelled all public functions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

However, 10th standard, plus two and vocational higher secondary school exams are being held. Examinations of various universities will commence from Monday. Kerala has been hit by the second round of Covid 19 cases after the country's first three positive cases in the state were successfully cured and discharged from hospitals last month.