Kerala's tally hits 587, with 87 active coronavirus cases, 497 recovered and three deaths

• Coronavirus cases in Kerala have hit 587, with 87 active cases, 497 patients who have recovered and 3 deaths.
• The government has approved a proposal to increase the sales tax on liquor by 10% on beer and wine alongside a 35% hike in other categories.
• Thomas Isaac, Kerala’s Finance Minister, stated that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s stimulus package for India was “disappointing”.
• Follow the comprehensive coverage of the Coronavirus pandemic in India on Business Insider India.

Kerala was the first Indian state to report a positive coronavirus case on January 30. As of May 16, the total number of confirmed cases stands at 587 with 10 new cases added to the tally in the past 24 hours.

Total coronavirus cases	587
Active coronavirus cases	87
Recovered coronavirus patients	497
Deaths due to coronavirus	3

The recovery rate for coronavirus in Kerala is at 84.67% with a mortality rate of 0.51%, according to the data provided by the Kerala Health Ministry. The Chief Secretary of Kerala Tom Jose claims that this is the best recovery rate in India compared the nationwide average of 32%. The districts of Malappuram, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram have reported one death each.

Kerala and plasma therapy to fight coronavirus
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has received proposals from six hospitals in Kerala looking to participate in the organisation’s plasma therapy clinical trials. Four of which are government-owned and two are private.

Overall, ICMR has received proposals from 76 institutions to participate in its ‘A phase II, Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of Convalescence Plasma to Limit COVID-19 Associated Complications in Moderate Disease’ — the PLACID trial, in short.

Kerala was one of the first states in India to test the coronavirus mitigation method on an experimental basis. ICMR gave clearance to a team of 17 doctors from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences. However, permits were pulled a mere five days later when ICMR informed the health department that it was initiating its own clinical trial, and hospitals could participate in the nationwide effort.

Kerala Finance Minister calls India’s ₹20 lakh crore economic package ‘disappointing’
Kerala’s Finance Minister Thomas Issac called the stimulus package presented by India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman “disappointing” while hoping that further details will yield more relief for migrant workers.


Alcohol in Kerala is going to get expensive as the government tries to recover revenue loss
The Kerala state cabinet has approved the proposal to increase the sales tax on liquor, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the press. It suggests a 10% hike on beer and wine alongside a 35% increase on other categories of alcohol to help boost revenue collection from Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL).

The current tax stands at 202% for alcohol below ₹400 and 212% for alcohol above the ₹400 threshold. The revision will result in the new rates being at 237% and 247% respectively.

Major updates of coronavirus in Kerala:

30 January	First case of coronavirus positive patient in Kerala
9 March	Second wave of coronavirus cases
10 March	All colleges and schools shut down
23 March	Statewide lockdown announced
24 March	Kerala hits 100 coronavirus cases
25 March	Nationwide lockdown comes into effect
28 March	First patient dies due to coronavirus
10 April	First 100 coronavirus positive patients recover
13 April	Number of recovered patients crosses number of active cases
5 May	Total number of coronavirus cases in Kerala crosses 500

District wise division of coronavirus cases in Kerala:

District	Confirmed	Recovered	Active	Death
Kasargod	182	178	4	0
Kannur	119	115	4	0
Malappuram	34	23	10	1
Kozhikode	25	24	1	0
Idukki	24	24	0	0
Ernakulam	24	21	2	1
Kottayam	22	20	2	0
Kollam	20	18	2	0
Palakkad	18	17	1	0
Thiruvananthapuram	17	16	0	1
Pathanamthitta	16	13	3	0
Thrissur	15	13	2	0
Wayanad	13	3	10	0
Alappuzha	5	5	0	0
TOTAL	534	490	41	3

Source: Daily Bulletin, Directorate of Health Service, Government of Kerala

Map of hotspots and red zones in Kerala:

List of hotposts and red zones in Kerala:

Sl. No.	District	Local self governance needing special attention	Containment zones
1	Ernakulam	Edakkattuvayal	14
2	Idukki	Elappara	11, 12, 13
3	Idukki	Santhanpara	8
4	Idukki	Vandanmedu	12, 14
5	Kannur	Ezhome	All Wards
6	Kannur	Kadirur	All Wards
7	Kannur	Koothuparamba (M)	All Wards
8	Kannur	Kottayam Malabar	All Wards
9	Kannur	Kunnothuparamba	All Wards
10	Kannur	Mokeri	All Wards
11	Kannur	Panoor (M)	All Wards
12	Kannur	Pappinisseri	All Wards
13	Kannur	Pattiam	All Wards
14	Kannur	Peralasseri	All Wards
15	Kasargode	Chemnad	22
16	Kasargode	Chengala	17, 18
17	Kollam	Punaloor (M)	17
18	Kollam	Thrikkaruva	9, 10, 12, 13
19	Kottayam	Kottayam (M)	2, 18
20	Kottayam	Manarcadu	10, 16
21	Kottayam	Panchaikkadu	16
22	Kottayam	Velloor	5
23	Kozhikode	Kozhikode (C)	42, 43, 44, 45, 54, 55, 56
24	Palakkad	Kuzhalmannam	10, 11, 15
25	Palakkad	Thenkurissi	15, 12
26	Trivandrum	Neyyattinkara (M)	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44
27	Trivandrum	Varkala (M)	16, 17
28	Wayanad	Ambalavayal	Mangodu Colony
29	Wayanad	Edavaka	All Wards
30	Wayanad	Mananthavady (M)	All Wards
31	Wayanad	Meenangadi	8, 9, 10, 17
32	Wayanad	Thirunelli	All Wards
33	Wayanad	Vellamunda	9, 10, 11, 12
34	Wayanad	Nenmeni

Source: DHS Bulletin

See also:
Coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu news and updates

Coronavirus cases in Haryana news and updates

Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra news and updates