
21,890 persons test positive in Kerala
The Hindu
Slight dip in daily cases in State due to fewer tests in weekend
For the sixth day in a row, Kerala reported over 20,000 new COVID-19 cases. When the results of 96,378 samples tested in 24 hours came in on Monday, 21,890 persons tested newly positive for the disease. The test positivity rate was 22.71%. The slight dip in cases is because of the weekend phenomenon, when the number of people who come forward for testing is fewer. It should in no way be mistaken that the epidemic curve could be showing signs of decline. The curve is still climbing and is not expected to relent before mid-May, unless the State adopts drastic measures like a lock-down. The active case pool of the State, which crossed two lakh on Sunday, has risen to 2,32,812 patients. Disease transmission is intense and uniformly rising across all districts, though the northern districts have a higher active case load now. At least five northern districts reported over 2,000 new cases each.
The municipal bus stand auditorium in Malappuram was packed. But nobody quite knew what to expect. After all, a new event was making its debut at the State School Arts Festival. The moment V.G. Harikrishnan started his rendition of Pyar bhare do sharmile nain..., everyone was convinced that Ghazal was here to stay. The student from GVHSS, Atholi (Kozhikode), was applauded loudly for his rendering of the timeless ghazal sung originally by Mehdi Hassan.

For the last few weeks, several wards in Madurai city have been getting piped drinking water through a new drinking water scheme. The sweetness of the generously supplied water has led to loss of business to several suppliers of canned drinking water in the city. But, not many know that the water supplied to the houses in Madurai is directly drawn from Lower Dam of Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki district of Kerala.











