Spike alarming, Kerala on verge of community spread: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state reported its highest singleday tally of 339 Covid-19 cases on Thursday as chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan warned that the state was on the verge of a community spread, with the increase in case load pointing to the worsening situation.
"The state’s first super spread has been reported in Poonthura, which hints at a community spread in the next stage. The number of contact cases has gone up considerably in the region and stricter measures are needed to prevent a community spread," he said.
As many as 148 persons who tested positive on Thursday were infected through contact.These include four healthcare workers, two Indo-Tibetan Border Force personnel, one BSF personnel in Thrissur and one Defence Security Corps personnel in Kannur.
Thiruvananthapuram (95) had the highest number of cases reported, of which 88 are contact cases and 76 from Poonthura alone.
The chief minister said there were concerns about certain pockets in Ernakulam also. "Experts have said that multiple clusters could be formed in city areas and it might lead to a super spread. Many major cities in other states had witnessed this phenomenon. We should take utmost care in preventing such a situation," Vijayan said.
Thursday sees max no. of sample testing
It has to be confirmed if the spread in the state capital occurred from a fish market. Such spreads can happen anywhere in the state and people should take necessary precautions. “The state witnessed over 300 cases for the last two days and this could increase further in the coming days. We will be able to provide treatment for all those infected but the concern is over the spike in disease load through contact," he said.
Among the new cases, 117 persons came from abroad and 74 from other states. As many as 149 patients recovered from the infection on the day. Besides Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram had 55 new cases on Thursday, Palakkad 50, Thrissur 27, Alappuzha 22, Idukki 20, Ernakulam 12, Kasaragod 11, Kollam 10, Kozhikode and Kannur eight each, and Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Wayanad seven each.
The number of cases reported in the state till date is 6,534, of which 2,795 persons are under treatment. Malappuram (431) has the highest number of active cases, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (326) and Kannur (319).
Thursday also saw the highest number of sample testing, with 12,592 samples collected from across the state. Till date, 2,20,677 samples (including repeat, augmented and private lab samples) have been sent for tests, of which results of 4,854 are pending. Besides, 63,199 of the total 66,934 samples taken from priority groups as part of sentinel surveillance have tested negative.