Kerala Govt to take action against violators of COVID-19 quarantine, isolation norms

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], September 3 : Amid a surge in the number of coronavirus cases, the Kerala government on Friday issued an order stating that strict action will be taken against those violating the COVID-19 quarantine and isolation norms.
The order also stated that provisions of the Disaster Management Act, Kerala State Epidemic Act and other relevant legal provisions will be invoked.
The order issued by the Disaster Management Department of the Kerala Government read, "The government of Kerala issues guidelines from time to time regarding the quarantine and isolation norms for the COVID positive patients, COVID suspected and contact persons. The undersigned in his capacity as Chairman of the State Executive Committee of Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, in the exercise of the powers conferred under Sec.20(3) of the DM Act-2005, orders that the quarantine and isolation norms stipulated therein shall be strictly enforced throughout the state by the implementing agencies.
It further stated the Rapid Response Teams/ward level committees, neighbourhood clusters and the concerned officials of Police, Revenue, Health and Local Self Government departments shall be responsible for ensuring that guidelines are strictly followed.
The above agencies shall also render assistance in providing home delivery of essential items to such quarantined persons, in case they face difficulties, it said.
"Action shall be taken against the persons, violating the norms of quarantine, invoking the provisions of DM Act, Kerala State Epidemic Act and other relevant legal provisions in force," said the order.
Meanwhile, Kerala reported 29,322 new COVID19 infections, 22,938 recoveries and 131 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the state health bulletin on Friday.
With this, the total number of active cases have gone up to 2,46,437, while the death toll has increased to 21,280. The total number of recoveries in the state stands at 38,83,186.
The test positivity rate in the state is 17.91 per cent. A total of 1,63,691 samples were tested during the last 24 hours.
India meanwhile, reported 45,352 fresh COVID-19 infections, 34,791 recoveries and 366 fatalities in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry on Friday.
Of the fresh cases, Kerala contributed a majority of cases by mounting 32,097 new cases yesterday. The total death toll in the country reached 4,39,895.
The total number of cases in the country jumped to 3,29,03,289 including 3,99,778 active cases. Active cases account for 1.22 per cent of the total cases.
As of now, the total recoveries from this virus in the country escalated to 3,20,63,616 including the fresh recoveries in the last 24 hours. Following this, the overall recovery rate is currently at 97.45 per cent.
In this, the weekly positivity rate is now at 2.66 per cent that is less than 3 per cent for the last 70 days. The daily positivity rate is also reported to be at 2.72 per cent in the country.