Pinarayi Vijayan says Kerala on ‘brink of community spread’ as cases spike

Kerala on Thursday reported 84 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the total to 1,088.

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Kerala, which had flattened the Covid-19 curve in the previous two bouts, is on the brink of community spread with a steady spike in cases in the last 20 days, mainly due to the return of people from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Kerala on Thursday reported 84 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the total to 1,088. The number of positive cases has more than doubled over the last 20 days in the state, which had reported only 503 cases for 100 days from January 30 to May 8.

After the review meeting, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told media that the state is on the brink of community outbreak of infection. “At this stage, we cannot say that there is community spread of Covid-19 in Kerala. But, we are on the brink of community spread. The number of positive cases has gone up. But, most of them are from outside and infected through contacts in Kerala. That is a positive sign that we can still contain the spread of infection,’’ he said, adding that all cases with cold and flu would be subjected to Covid-19 test.

The data on daily cases over the last one week shows more people coming from other states are testing positive in Kerala than those coming from abroad.