Kerala to open ‘Corona care homes’ to confront COVID-19 spread
To curb any new cases of coronavirus in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked the state government to open care homes for travellers near its international airports.
India has reported about 223 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 pandemic as of today (of which, five people have died and 23 have recovered), according to Worldometer. And officials have been taking a slew of measures to contain the coronavirus spread in the country.
To tackle the rising number of cases in the country, the Kerala government has been very proactive since the very first case in the state was detected earlier this year, and at present, it has not reported new cases. The citizens are actively participating in hygienic practices and social distancing, and also spreading awareness and educating people about the right practices.
Image: India Today
In an effort to further contain the virus, the Kerala government of will soon open ‘Corona care homes’ near each of its international airports – Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Kannur, which will help monitor the movement of international travellers and contain the spread.
“We are entering a critical phase. We need more care and alert. There are some instances where people on home quarantine slipped out and interacted with others. It will foil our planning and preparedness. It is a social responsibility and everyone should go by the directives of health officials,” stated Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a meeting at the state capital on Wednesday with medical experts, scientists, and health activists, according to the Hindustan Times.
Vijayan has instructed all district collectors to identify buildings that can be taken on a lease to set up these care homes, as in the coming weeks, the Kerala government expects more passengers from infected countries to come to the state. These homes are said to have the capacity to accommodate about 4,000-5,000 people and will be staffed with doctors, medical students, and other healthcare volunteers.
"When more people from infected countries arrive in the state, we have to isolate them for a minimum of 14 days to break the chain of viral transmission. It's not advisable to home quarantine them as the chances of risks are higher. The district administrations have already identified buildings, and we can open such centres if the situation demands," Kerala’s Health Minister KK Shailaja told India Today.
Furthermore, on Thursday, the Indian government issued a directive, imposing a blanket ban on commercial international airlines flying to India for a week starting from March 22, to contain the spread of coronavirus transmitting from foreign countries.
To date, Kerala has seen 24 confirmed cases with no new cases being reported in the past two days. While 268 COVID-19 affected patients are in hospital quarantine, a majority of at least 18,011 people, are quarantined in their homes.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
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