: With active COVID-19
cases touching 32 as five more people tested positive on Tuesday, the Kerala government said it was making elaborate arrangements for testing those coming back by road, rail, flights and ships and asserted all efforts were being made to stop community spread of the deadly virus at any cost.
"We are entering a new phase of COVID-19 prevention as 'Pravasi' (expatriate) Malayalees are returning.
It will be a big challenge to keep those coming from hotspots safe," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.
"There is need to stop community spread at any cost and if we are not able to manage it,the repercussions will be beyond our control.
We are making elaborate arrangements for testing all those who are coming back by road, rail,flights and ships," Vijayan said.
Of the five who tested positive on Tuesday, four, including a two year-old child had come from abroad recently by the special flight from Kuwait to Kochi.
The other infected person had returned from Chennai, the state government said.
The child's mother's samples have been sent for testing and results are awaited.
Of the total 32 people presently under treatment for the infection as many as 23 had come from outside Kerala, including 11 from abroad.
Vijayan said 70 per cent of the positive cases were those who had come from outside the state and the remaining infected through contact.
Giving details, he said there were 32 cases at present.
"Of this, six people had come from Chennai, four from Maharashtra, two from Nizamuddin, besides 11 foreign returnees.Nine were infected through contact."
Six of them are from Wayanad district where a truck driver, who had returned from Koyambedu market in Chennai, tested positive and had infected his close relatives and two of his contacts.
With the addition of the fresh cases,the total COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 524 while 31,600 people are under observation, including 473 in various hospitals.
Of the five cases on Tuesday, three are from Malappuram and one each from Pathnamthitta and Kottayam districts.
Kerala was among the first states in India to report the deadly virus infection, but it has also earned global praise for having effectively managed to contain the outbreak and ensure a high recovery rate compared to other regions.
On May 8, Kerala had declared that it had "flattened the curve",but hours later, the state detected more positive COVID-19 cases among those who were airlifted by the Centre from other countries under its 'Vande Bharat' mission.
Fresh cases were also detected among those who had reached Kerala from other states.
With the Railways commencing limited passenger service from Tuesday, Vijayan said there was a possibility of the infection spreading in air-conditioned coaches and this was theexperience the world over.
"It is better to have non-AC trains and Non-AC vehicles to bring back the stranded Keralites. We will bring this to the notice of the Centre and railways," he said.
He cautioned that the spread of virus through close contacts would be uncontrollable if not contained properly.
"We all know that 22 people in Kasaragod district got infected from one person.Likewise, nine people in Kannur were infected from one person.
Now in Wayanad, one person gave the infection to six of his contacts," he said, adding that one needs to understand the threat the virus poses.
"If we ever lose control, it will be a disaster," Vijayan said.
The chief minister said Kerala was able to confirm and identify all the cases till now, but the massive rush of Malayalees from other states and abroad being witnessed, posed a challenge to the government.
"Normalcy has almost returned to the state," Vijayan said but cautioned people from being complacent and refrain from behaving like the situation has returned to pre- COVID-19 days.
As of now, Wayanad has eight cases, the highest number in the state, followed by Malappuram with four.
Kollam, Ernakulam and Kannur has three cases each while Thrissur, Palakkad two cases each and Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Kozhikode one case each.
Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha and Idukki have no cases as of now.
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