Lone fresh positive case, only 16 under treatment; Kerala has

Kerala has flattened the COVID-19 curve, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said as only a lone case was reported on Friday and just 16 people remained under treatment for the infection in the state.

Vijayan also cautioned that the state needed to be careful to avoid another wave of the deadly virus, but asserted it was ready to fight it in such an event.

The state reported a solitary positive case, taking the total to 503 while ten more people recovered on Friday, further bringing down the active cases to 16, the chief minister told reporters here.

"Now, two months later (after second wave of infections hit the state in March), the curve has been flattened. As we have completed 100 days since the country's first COVID case was detected from Kerala, we have a record of better recovery rate in the whole world," Vijayan said.

"It's day 100 of our #COVID19 fight. India's first case was reported here on Jan 30. Kerala has shown great courage & resolve. Fought 2 waves of COVID; and is ready if there's another one. Years from now, we should be able to look back & take pride in how we responded to this,"the Chief Minister tweeted.

The fresh case of Friday was a person with kidney ailment who came to Ernakulam from Chennai.

"All the ten recoveries are from Kannur. The total tally of the cases in the state is 503, while 20,157 are under observation, including 347 in various hospitals," he said.

The country's first COVID-19 case was reported on January 30 when a medical student from Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, tested positive in Thrissur.

The second wave of the virus had hit the state during March when a three-member family returned from Italy.

With the start of repatriation of the stranded Non Resident Keralites (NRKs), mainly from Gulf nations, Vijayan said, "there is need to ensure that a third wave does not happen in the state and all efforts are being taken to ensure this."