Thiruvananthapuram, July 22 Kerala continues to break all records as the number of Covid positive cases on a single day crossed 1000-mark for the first time and touched 1,038, taking the total cases to 15,032.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said presently 8,818 are Covid positive in the state and with the cases spiking, the government might have to think of complete lockdown, but nothing has been decided as yet.
"Of the new cases, 785 are local infectees, of which the source of 57 are unknown. The situation in Thiruvananthapuram is serious as 226 new cases were registered of which 190 are local infectees. Even as things remain serious, the state is fully geared to meet this spike as Covid first line treatment centres are ready," said Vijayan.
But Vijayan, even while admitting the role of the media as playing a good role, turned critical on a particular media which he said was giving headlines on Wednesday that the death toll in Kerala on account of Covid is increasing.
With one Covid death reported on Wednesday, the death toll in Kerala touched 50.
"I am not speaking of all the media, but some which levels baseless allegations and airs untruth. While some of them correct their wrong, some others fail to give the correction. The state is passing through tough times and during such times, untruth should not be aired. This applies to Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, who is giving factually wrong statistics. We do not know from where he is getting it," said Vijayan and read out the total number of positive cases on a single day in states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which was several times more than in Kerala.
He said the Firing Range under the control of the Kerala Police will now be converted as a treatment centre for Covid positive police officials.
"Till now 67 nurses and 43 doctors in the state have turned Covid positive. If one looks into the other states, the medical professionals turning positive is high. We are giving high priority to the safety of health professionals. Strict action will be taken against those who do not provide the required safety protocols for the health professionals," added Vijayan.
( With inputs from IANS )