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Bhatkal, Mar 30: Uttara Kannada district administration has decided to shift all those Bhatkal residents who have returned from abroad after March 15 to quarantine facilities in Bhatkal town to avoid further family contacts, Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada K Harish Kumar said on Monday.

“All primary contacts identified are already in government quarantine facilities,” he said in a communique.

All people must cooperate to maintain social distancing to avoid further spread of COVID-19, he added.

Thiruvanathapuram, Mar 27: The state is heading for its worst ever crisis with coronavirus cases increasing rapidly and Kasargod district the worst hit. On Friday alone 39 positive cases were reported in the state of which 34 are from Kasargod.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the situation is grave and Kasargod has been the worst hit. More than the positive cases reported in the district, the worrying factor is that many people have come into contact with these positive cases.

The chief minister warned that the government will be forced to declare the names of the people who are defying the quarantine guidelines in the district. More people have been put under risk in the district and the district administration is much concerned since the results of 215 samples are yet to come.

There is no other way but to tighten the restrictions imposed in the district against the people coming out of their houses. The government has decided to provide more facilities to the hospitals in Kasargod and Kannur to meet an emergency.

The medical college hospital in Kannur will be converted into a coronavirus hospital with 200 bed strength. Steps have been taken to equip the medical college hospital with more facilities. The Central University at kasargood will be converted into as a temporary coronavirus treatment centre. 

The state has also requested permission from ICMR to begin the testing facility here, said the chief minister.

The total number of positive cases reported in the state have now become 176 of which 12 have been discharged after testing negative. At present 164 positive people are admitted in several hospitals of the state.

On Friday of the 39 positive cases, two are from Kannur and one each from Thrissur, Kollam and Kozhikode. With this all the districts in the state have been now affected with coronavirus.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has rationalised the syllabus for classes IX to XII for the academic year 2020-21 by up to 30 per cent to make up for academic loss caused due to COVID-19, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced on Tuesday.

"Looking at the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and the world, CBSE was advised to revise the curriculum and reduce course load for the students of classes IX to XII.

"To aid the decision, a few weeks back I also invited suggestions from all educationists on the reduction of syllabus for students and I am glad to share that we received more than 1.5K suggestions. Thank you, everyone, for the overwhelming response," Nishank tweeted.

"Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalize syllabus up to 30 per cent by retaining the core concepts," he added.