'In a move to check for community spread of COVID-19, Kerala has begun random testing of asymptomatic persons. The state has formulated a new testing plan to find ‘any undetected COVID-19 positivity among the general population of Kerala’. The state plans to test 3,000 samples from the general population and all these tests will use the RT-PCR (real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) kit – considered the gold standard to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.
'A 45-year-old teacher who also is a BJP local leader in Kannur has been arrested in Kerala for allegedly sexually abusing his fourth grade student. K Padmarajan's arrest comes almost a month after a complaint was registered with the police via the children's helpline Childline...'
'The sun had already set on March 7 when Nooh Pullichalil Bava received the call. “I have bad news,” his boss warned. On February 29, a family of three had arrived in the Indian state of Kerala from Italy, where they lived. The trio skipped a voluntary screening for covid-19 at the airport and took a taxi 125 miles (200 kilometers) to their home in the town of Ranni. When they started developing symptoms soon afterward, they didn’t alert the hospital.
'Unable to wait to make their union official, a Kerala couple is in hot water for eloping and violating lockdown rules in Kerala. 21-year-old Rajini* and 23-year-old Ashiq*, who eloped away last Saturday, have been booked by police for leaving their homes for a cause that was not an emergency. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Rajini left her home in Thamarassery with Ashiq. On finding out about the incident, Rajini’s father filed a complaint with the Thamarassery police station, saying that his daughter had gone missing...'
'After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video conference with the chief ministers on April 2 to tackle COVID-19 epidemic, the Centre has approved for the release – in advance – of Rs 1,611 crore to Maharashtra under the State Disaster Risk Management Fund (SDRMF) to fight the disease as it has reported the highest number of such cases so far. According to a news report in The Hindu, however, Kerala, which has registered one of the highest number of coronavirus cases across the country, has been allocated only Rs 157 crore – much less than most states...'
'A Youth Congress worker from Malappuram who released a fake WhatsApp voice message claiming that a special train for migrant workers will leave from Malappuram’s Nilambur station on Monday, has been arrested by the police. The accused has been identified as Ali Shakeer (32), a Youth Congress worker and former mandal secretary from Edvanna. He has been booked by the Edavanna police on Sunday night...'
'Five people with an alleged history of alcohol addiction have committed suicide — five days into the lockdown in Kerala — and reports point to the health woes of alcohol addicts building up into a major concern on the sidelines of the battle against COVID-19 across the state. Reports of suicide attempts by two alcohol addicts emerged in Malappuram on Saturday besides a sudden increase in the number of admissions at de-addiction centres and mental health units at government hospitals...'
'An asthma patient died in Kasargod who could not access medical aid in time. The deceased was a native of Thuminad, a region in Kerala-Karnataka border. Meanwhile, a pregnant woman delivered a baby in an ambulance while she was on her way to Mangalapuram...'
'The mysterious journey undertaken by the one Kasaragod COVID-19 patient – Patient K – after landing at the Calicut International Airport from Dubai is now being unravelled. It has now come out that Patient K is a suspected gold carrier and is part of a gold smuggling racket based in Kasaragod. The contact tracing of the 47-year-old businessman of Eriyal has become a crucial task for the government simply because of the number of people Patient K has met while being infected with the coronavirus.
'The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the general orders passed by the High Courts of Allahabad and Kerala which restrained all recovery proceedings by tax authorities under State and Centre, and by Banks and other Financial Institutions until April 6. These High Courts had passed the stay orders to cut down litigation in the wake of COVID 19 pandemic. In SC, a bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar, Vineet Saran and Krishna Murari passed the stay order on the petition filed by the Central Government against the HC orders.
