In a sort of relief toKerala, no fresh cases of coronavirus was reported on Wednesday a day after it saw eight people testing positive, taking the total cases to 14 in the state.Two elderly couple being treated for COVID-19 at the isolation ward of the government medical college hospital in Kottayam was 'stable' now, Health Minister K K Shailaja said.Earlier on Wednesday, officials said the 85-year old woman who has chronic health problems was in a serious condition."No fresh cases of coronavirus were detected today.The condition of two elderly patients from Pathanamthitta are stable," she told reporters here.Educational institutions and cinema houses remained closed across the state as part of severe restrictions imposed by the government till this month end to halt the further spread of the deadly coronavirus.Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has termed as "uncivilised" the Centre's circular barring the return of Indians from coronavirus-hit countries such as Italy unless they produce a certificate that proves they have tested negative for the virus.Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi late Tuesday night seeking his intervention to withdraw the circular issued by Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in this connection.Shailaja said the state started testing the samples for coronavirus at labs in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode and two other laboratories would commence operations soon.The state government has also sought permission from the central government to start tsting the blood samples at the public health lab of Thrissur medical college and the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology.She also said the health department has done a "geo mapping" to identify the places visited by the three-member family from Pathanamthitta which returned to the state from COVID-19 hit Italy on February 29.At least 11 squads led by the district collector and the district medical officer travelled across the district to identify the places visited by the family and to track the contacts, she said."We have also released a travel route of the family. We have quarantined 969 persons in Pathanamthitta district alone," the Minister said.Shailaja said, at least 129 people have been identified as "high risk patients" in Pathanamthitta of which 13 per cent were above the age of 60."Sixty people were identified and quarantined in Kottayam district and we have been observing 131 in Ernakulam district. None of them are high risk patients," she said.She also said that the central government has been screening the passengers at the airports and the state government has set up help desks.The positive cases include parents of the three-year- old boy, who tested positive for COVID-19 in Kochi on Monday on the family's return from Italy, and friends and relatives of the Pathanamthitta trio.At least 3,313 people are under observation -- 3,020 under home quarantine and 293 in isolation wards at various hospitals, officials said.Meanwhile, seven people have been arrested and 12 cases registered by the police in different parts of the state for allegedly spreading fake news about coronavirus on social media.State police chief Loknath Behara said non-bailable provisions will be charged against those who spread fake messages."We are strictly monitoring all the related posts on social media to identify those who spread fake messages. We will take strong action against such persons," Behara said in a release.Kerala has been hit by the second round of coronavirus cases after the country's first three positive cases in the state were successfully cured and discharged from hospitals last month.The government has said temple and church festivals, which witnesses mass gatherings should be avoided, but rituals can be held in a low key manner.It has also asked devotees of Lord Ayyappa to avoid visiting the hill shrine in Sabarimala which will reopen on Friday for monthly poojas.All government related functions have been postponed including in which ministers participate.
