Kerala has entered next phase of COVID-19 containment with people returning to state: Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said Kerala has entered the next phase of COVID19 prevention and containment with people returning to the state and there is a spike in the number of cases.

The Chief Minister said that 40 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state.

"Forty new COVID-19 cases reported in the state today. Of these, nine returned from abroad, 16 returned from Maharashtra, five from Tamil Nadu and three from Delhi. The total number of positive cases in the state are 1004, of which 445 are active cases," he said.

The Chief Minister said 173 people from the state have died due to COVID-19 in various countries.

Vijayan also said there seems to be confusion regarding the government announcement on paid institutional quarantine for those who are returning from abroad.

"It was also taken up during the all-party meeting. Those who cannot afford paid institutional quarantine need not be worried. There are Keralites who are returning from abroad who can bear the money for the institutional quarantine. The government will soon come out with a clear-cut guideline," he said.

The state's move was criticised by Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor who said it is a "betrayal" of the state's healthcare model.

"Expecting our returning pravasis, many of whom have lost their jobs, to pay for their quarantine is not only sad but a betrayal of the Kerala healthcare model whose success the govt has been basking in," Tharoor said in a tweet on Tuesday.

( With inputs from ANI )