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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala reported 2,316 fresh Covid-19 cases and 16 more deaths on Tuesday, taking the infection count to 10,81,404 and the death toll to 4,328. The day also saw 4,386 people recuperating from the disease, pushing the total cured to 10,39,281. Currently, there are 37,150 people under treatment in the state.
State health minister KK Shailaja said the state tested 65,906 samples in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 3.51 per cent. Till now, 1,19,97,827 samples have been tested.
Kottayam reported the highest number of fresh cases on Tuesday at 279, followed by Kozhikode with 267 and Thrissur (244). Out of those found infected today, 48 reached the state from outside, while 2,100 contracted the disease through their contact.The source of infection of 147 people are yet to be traced and 21 health workers are also among the infected, the minister said in a release.
Thiruvananthapuram: Newly-appointed chief secretary V P Joy assumed office on Sunday. The senior IAS officer took over from his predecessor Vishwas Mehta, who retired from the service on the same day.
Joy will be 47th chief secretary of the state. He will be the head of state’s bureaucracy till June 30, 2020. The 1987-batch IAS officer had recently returned to the state after his central deputation and joined as officer on special duty.
At the Centre, immediately prior to returning to the state, he was holding the charge of secretary of coordination and security in the cabinet secretariat.
A native of Kinginimattam in Ernakulam, Joy served as a scientist at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram from 1985 till 1987.
TESTING WATERS: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joins fishermen as they toil for the morning catch on the high sea in Kollam on Wednesday
KOLLAM: With election season fast approaching, it’s time for politicians to test the waters and fish for ideas. And Rahul Gandhi seems game. On Wednesday morning, the Wayanad MP got on a boat with local fishermen and ventured out to sea from Vaddy harbour in Kollam.
He arrived at the harbour at around 4.30am to interact with fisherfolk as part of his outreach programme. He then proceeded to join 21 fishermen on ‘Poondi Matha’, a boat owned by the fishermen’s society led by Biju Lawrence. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal MP and Thrissur MP and National Fishermen Congress president T N Prathapan accompanied him.