Kerala is in the third phase of corona outbreak and is at the verge of a community spread, cautioned Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“Clusters of the disease spread have been found in Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram and few other districts. The next stage is community spread and we should avoid it. The numbers of contact cases are increasing by the day and it is being caused by negligence and carelessness on the part of the public,” the Chief Minister told reporters.
Stating that there are four stages of spreading as per World Health Organization, Vijayan said “first is a no patient scenario, second is a sporadic spread where patients coming from outside the community spread the disease, third is the spread of the disease to certain populations and clusters and fourth is widespread community spread. We are now facing the third stage.”
The Chief Minister said that the activities of local bodies and people’s representatives should be further expanded and strengthened to contain the spread of the deadly virus.
ENTRANCE EXAM
The Chief Minister said that Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical (KEAM) entrance examination for admissions to the 2020-21 academic year will be held as scheduled on July 16. Apart from Kerala, the other centres are in Delhi, Mumbai and Dubai. About 1.10 students are expected to appear for KEAM examination outside the State.
The Chief Minister informed that in addition to Containment Zones and Hotspots, preparations are being made for the entrance exam in the triple lockdown areas by taking additional precautions to prevent the spread of Covid. The examination will be conducted in an impeccable manner ensuring the complete safety of the students and allaying the concerns of the parents.
Police assistance will be provided to avoid crowding at examination centres and bus stops. The Fire Force will disinfect and sanitise all centres before and after the test. About 3,000 volunteers will also be deployed for the thermal scanning and sanitizing of the candidates.
Separate rooms will be provided for out-of-state students and students coming from quarantine. KSRTC will run special services to the examination centres in the morning and evening as per the requirement of the students. In addition, KSRTC has also prepared a ‘Bus on Demand’ scheme.
70 students from coastal areas of Thiruvananthapuram district can appear for the examinations at St. Anthony’s HHS, Valiyathura. For students in Delhi and NCR region, the JC Bose University of Science and Technology at Faridabad will be the new centre.
The CM also added that Short Visit Pass will be made available to students from other states through the Covid Jagratha portal.
