The districts of Malappuram and Palakkad witnessed a surge in COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with the former recording 37 cases and the latter 29.
All but one of the 37 patients in Malappuram reached the district from outside the State. While four persons came from other States, 32 came from abroad, said District Collector K. Gopalakrishnan. Six of them were admitted to a hospital at Kozhikode and three at Kannur. The remaining cases were admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri.
The nine-year-old boy who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 apparently contracted the disease from a paediatrician at Edappal. The confirmation of COVID-19 in two doctors at Edappal had spread panic waves across Ponnani taluk, prompting authorities to impose a triple lockdown in the taluk.
District Medical Officer K. Sakeena requested those who had had any contact with newly infected persons to go into room quarantine at their homes. She said they should alert the Health officials about their quarantine status. The district control cell may be contacted at 0483 2737858, 2737857, 2733251, 2733252, 2733253.
As many as 277 persons are currently under treatment in Malappuram. A total number of 635 persons have beeen tested positive in the district so far. More than 36,000 persons are in quarantine in the district.
Twenty-nine persons were tested positive for the virus in Palakkad district on the day. While 11 patients had come back from the UAE, three had returned from Kuwait, three from Saudi Arabia, two from Oman, seven from Tamil Nadu and one from Hyderabad.
Two persons in the district, including a 13-year-old girl, were infected through local contacts. They contracted the disease from their family members who returned from Tamil Nadu.
As many as 176 persons are currently under treatment in Palakkad. Three persons from the district are being treated at Manjeri, three at Ernakulam and two at Kozhikode.
In Kannur
The district recorded 35 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. District Collector T.V. Subhash said 10 of the patients had arrived from abroad, four were Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, 11 Defence Service Corps personnel and 10 arrived from other States.
Those who came from abroad hail from Chittariparamba, Kurumathur, Kolacheri, Kunnothparamba, Mattanur, Sreekandapuram, Pinarayi and Keezhalur in the district. Those who returned from other States are residents of Kuttiyatoor, Alakode, Matool, Mokkeri, Kottayam Malabar and Kannur Corporation. Most of the affected CISF and DSC personnel were in quarantine after they had returned from outside the State.
The total number of positive cases recorded in the district so far stands at 560. There are 22,989 people under observation.
In Kasaragod
Fourteen more persons were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the district.
District Medical Officer A.V. Ramdas said eight of them came from abroad and six from other states. Those who arrived from abroad are residents of Ajanur, Manjeswaram, Mogralputhur, Pallikkara, Kumbala, Kasaragod and Nileswaram, while those who came from other States hail from Mogralputhur, Kasaragod, Vorkady, Chemmanad and Mangalpadi.
There are 6,820 people under observation in the district.
In Thrissur
Twenty fresh cases of the disease were reported in the district. It includes four Border Security Force (BSF) jawans at the Kainur camp. Ten persons have recovered from the disease.
With the jawans testing positive, institutional quarantine facilities will be arranged for the other BSF personnel at the Kainur camp. The district administration will arrange 50 rooms with double occupancy for them. Thirty others will be quarantined at the camp itself. There are 200 jawans at the camp. The district administration will advise the government to send jawans who do not have contact with the positive cases back home.
A health team led by the District Medical Officer has been deployed to review the situation. District Collector S. Shanavas said the situation was under control.
Among the positive cases, three were infected through contact. The patients include a 36-year-old man of Kunnamkulam who had contact with an affected bank worker at Changaramkulam; a 31-year-old woman whose husband, an employee of the Thrissur Corporation, had earlier tested positive; and a 32-year-old woman of Muriyad who had contact with an affected man who returned from Saudi Arabia. Currently, 189 patients are undergoing treatment in the district. So far, 463 cases have been reported from Thrissur. As many as 18,472 people are under observation.
In Kozhikode
Eight new cases were reported from the district on Saturday. According to a release by District Medical Officer V. Jayasree, the patients are from Vadakara, Puthuppady, Payyanakkal, Narikkuni, Azhiyoor, Eramala, Balussery, and Eramala. They had returned from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. Three of them had been shifted to designated COVID care facilities from the airport after rapid antibody tests conducted on them turned positive for SARS-CoV-2. Another one had exhibited COVID-19 symptoms from the airport. The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the district now is 101. The number of people under observation is 17,572, of whom 11,948 are expatriates.
Meanwhile, public transport on roads has been banned in Kundayithode, Ward 44, in Kozhikode Corporation, which has been declared a containment zone. Sale of essential commodities and emergency medical care have been exempted and shops should be open only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
In Wayanad
Two more positive cases were reported from Wayanad on the day. The patients were a 36-year-old resident of Kaniyampetta and a 29-year-old resident of Ellummannam, said Health Department sources.
The Kaniyampetta resident returned from Bengaluru on June 25 and the Ellummannam patient landed at the Kannur airport on July 2 from Dammam, sources said.
They were admitted to the District Hospital at Mananthavady and COVID-19 hospital at Anjarakandy in Kannur district respectively, the sources added.
(With inputs from Palakkad, Kannur, Kasaragod, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Wayanad bureaus)
