'Uppi' without 'i' is Upendra's new party

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6: The Kerala government on Wednesday said three foreign nationals were among the 2,528 people under observation in the state for the novel coronavirus infection and no new cases have been reported.

At least 93 people with minor symptoms of the virus have been lodged in isolation wards of various hospitals, state Health Minister KK Shailaja told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

India's three positive cases for the virus has been from the state's three districts of Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kasaragod.

All the three are students of China's Wuhan university, the epicentre of the virus.

"No new cases of coronavirus has been detected in the state today. At least 2,435 are under observation at home while 93 are in isolation wards at various hospital across the state," Mr Shailaja said.

The minister also said two foreigners have been quarantined in Ernakulam district and one foreign national at Thiruvananthapuram.

"The foreigner in Thiruvananthapuram has been kept at general hospital but not because he was showing symptoms but for observation as he travelled from China," an official said.

The health status of the three patients, who had tested positive for the virus, "remains satisfactory", the minister said.

After three cases were reported, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had declared the epidemic as a "state calamity" on Monday.

The health department has issued advisories to the education, tourism and the animal husbandry departments on taking precautions.

"The students, teachers, other staff members residing with families of Wuhan/China returnees who are already in home isolation should not attend classes...," an advisory issued to the education department read.

Rajan Khobragade, Principal Secretary (Health), said the health department has directed the District collectors to hold a meeting with the religious leaders of the district to create awareness during prayer meetings.

"We have directed district collectors to meet religious leaders and talk to them about the seriousness of the situation and create awareness among them and their followers on how to contain the spread of virus," the minister said.

Mr Shailaja also said the department got messages from some Kerala students studying in China, who returned to the state after the virus outbreak, that their Universities had asked them to return and attend classes.

"We have got some messages from the students that they were being recalled by the universities in China. We discussed the matter and it was decided that the centre will contact such universities and convey the message that it was not possible to send the students back to China until the epidemic was under control," the minister said.

Mr Shailaja also said even though there were no positive cases for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, the state needs to remain vigilant and reiterated the 28 days quarantine period for those returning from China.

Of the 2,528 people under observation, the maximum number is from Malappuram (383), followed by Ernakulam (333), Kozhikode (306) and Thrissur (241).

Mangaluru, Feb 26: Customs officials at Mangalore International Airport on Wednesday arrested a man for trying to smuggle gold worth over Rs 26 lakh by concealing it in his rectum.

The accused has been identified as Moideen Arzan, a resident of Uppala, Kasaragod.

According to police, he arrived from Dubai by an Air India flight and was attempting to smuggle the gold which he had converted in the form of paste and concealed in rubber capsules inside his rectum.

Madikeri, Feb 23: Back-to-back floods and landslides in the last two years, has led to a fall in the number of tourists coming to the coffee-growing region of Kodagu, forcing the district administration to intervene and take confidence-building measures, telling tourists that Kodagu was safe to visit.

According to the statistics of the Karnataka State Tourism Department, Kodagu recorded a moderately good number of tourists in 2018 and 2019, the years that the district witnessed devastating floods and landslides.

The Department’s statistics reveal that 17 lakh tourists visited Kodagu in 2018 and 18 lakh in 2019. This means the flood-ravaged years did attract tourists contrary to what the stakeholders had claimed.