THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Friday, Kerala completed 100 days since the first coronavirus case was reported on January 30. The state said that it has reported one new infection in the first week of May.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the COVID-19 curve in the state had flattened, marked by high recovery and low mortality rate.

He also added that one single positive case was reported on Friday in the state taking the tally to 503, while 10 cured patients were discharged from hospitals. Now, only 16 positive cases remain under medical management and they will also be discharged soon, he said.

Incidentally, Kerala recorded India’s first case of coronavirus, exactly three months ago. A student from China's Wuhan University, who had travelled all the way back to her home in Kerala, tested positive for the virus.

Kerala, which had initially seen a spike in cases, has recorded zero cases in five days in the month of May. From more than a 100 hot spots until a a few weeks ago, the state now has only 33 hot spots.

Vijayan also said that the state should not drop its guard as it risks a third wave of rising infections with the return of expats evacuated from foreign countries since Thursday.

He said that Kerala has shown great courage and resolve adding that the co-operation from the people of the state to ensure that home quarantine was followed strictly, made the state stronger in its fight.

"Years from now, we should be able to look back and take pride in how we responded to this," he said.

According to health officials, the state has 20,157 people under observation and 347 in hospitals. So far, 35,856 samples were tested by the state and 35,355 of them were negative for COVID-19.

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