Kerala witnessed a spike of COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours with 353 fresh cases. On Thursday, the state had recorded less than 300 cases only.
Ernakulam recorded 95 new cases of COVID-19 followed by Thiruvananthapuram 68, Kozhikode 33, Kottayam 29, Thrissur 24, Kollam 23, Idukki 19, Pathanamthitta 16, Alappuzha 12, Palakkad 9, Kannur 9, Malappuram 7, Wayanad 7 and Kasaragod 2.
A total of 16,614 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. However, no deaths were reported in the state due to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, 325 new recoveries were recorded in the state. Kerala has only 2,351 active cases of COVID-19.
On the other hand, the Central Government has rushed central teams to Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh for random scrutiny of 5% claims filed for COVID-19 ex-gratia compensation in these States.
This is in pursuance of Supreme Court’s Order dated 24th March 2022 passed in the Miscellaneous Application No. 1805 of 2021 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 539 of 2021.
A three member team will head to these states. Dr. P Ravindran, Advisor, MoHFW, Calicut will lead the team including Dr.Sanket Kulkarni, Joint Director, NCDC and Rajender Kumar, Under Secretary, RSBY Div to Kerala.
The deployed teams shall examine the on-field implementation of the ex-gratia being paid as per the directions of the Supreme Court and guidelines issued by NDMA. They shall undertake random scrutiny of 5% claims applications filed for payment of ex-gratia assistance. The teams shall also ascertain the process followed for payment of ex-gratia, examine the details of cases which were approved or rejected including documentation/verification undertaken for the same by the district authorities.
