COVID-19 gripped coastal wards in Kerala's Kasaragod and no one knew

With 24 of the 54 random samples testing positive, officials believe that community spread has started and quarantine, treatment, and testing centres will be started in the zone.
Representational image (Photo| ANI)
Representational image (Photo| ANI)

KASARAGOD:  Health officials are "shocked" after 24 of the 54 random samples from the three ward -- Kadappuram North, Kadappuram South, and Light House -- tested positive for COVID on Sunday. "We are shocked by the result. Almost half of them tested positive. A community spread has certainly happened here," said health inspector Sreejith AV.

The three wards have been sealed and declared a containment zone. The samples were tested as part of the government's augmented surveillance to look for hints of a community spread. "We selected the three coastal wards for the augmented surveillance because we were not getting any COVID cases from the area," he said.

The health officials finalised on seven categories of people to test: fishermen, fish sellers, women who sell fish going from door to door, drivers, children, elderly, and symptomatic persons. "We took 54 samples from these categories and are shocked by the results," he said.

Potentially the biggest COVID challenge of the district

If the fears of the health officials come true, the number of COVID cases is likely to explode in the coming days in Kasaragod district. "The question of a community spread is irrelevant in this situation," said Sreejith.

Among those who tested positive is an official of the Department of Fisheries, a staff of the Government Hospital, and a private lab technician.

Health officials said the houses in the area were close, often sharing the same wall. The people here mingle a lot, and many do not wear masks or regularly wash hands. "Though all houses have toilets, 80 per cent still defecate in the open on the beaches," the health inspector said.

Health officials said these reasons were enough to conclude there is a community spread. 

Action plan

Health officials are looking at a large number of infected persons and it was impossible to shift them out. "Expecting them to be in room quarantine will also not work because their houses are small with many members," the official said.

Health officials said they have proposed to set up a First-Line Treatment Centre (FLTC) and a Quarantine Centre in the containment zone.

Officials have identified the Government Fisheries Upper Primary School to set up the Quarantine Centre, and a two-storey building of the Department of Fisheries to set up the FLTC. "The building can have 50 beds," said Sreejith.

The zone is also likely to get a testing centre. Officials said they would draw up a priority list for testing people. "But eventually, almost all the residents will be tested," he said. "It is imperative to contain the virus in the three wards," he said.

Municipality officials said there were only two exits from the three wards. "One side of the wards is the sea and there is a road running parallel to the town. The affected area is sandwiched between the road and the sea. So it is easy to seal the area," a municipality official said.

Fifteen volunteers would be selected to deliver essential items and address the needs of the residents, said the official. "The volunteers would be tested for COVID and only negative volunteers deployed," he said.

Another coastal village also hit

Health inspector Govindan said tha three more persons have tested positive for COVID in the coastal village of Kottikkulam in Udma panchayat, taking the total number of infected persons to 17. Kottikulam is a high-risk area because of the high density of houses.

Almost all 17 are female fish sellers. They also tested positive during the augmented survey on July 28. Sixty-two samples were tested in Kottikulam. "We tested the people of Kottikulam because around 11 persons in nearby Palakkunnu tested positive," said Govindan.

In Palakkunnu, a journalist, five members of his family, a traditional healer, his brother who is a lottery seller, a flower pot shop owner, his wife, and staff tested positive. Udma panchayat now has 55 cases. But the health inspector said the complete picture would be known only after Bekal fishing villages in Udma panchayat and Pallikkara panchayat were tested. 

113 tested positive

Two persons died and 113 tested positive for COVID in Kasaragod on Sunday. Except for three, 110 are cases of local transmission, said district medical officer Dr AV Ramdas. Three came from abroad.

On Sunday, Kasaragod town reported the highest number of cases at 24. All were part of the random augmented survey.Thirty persons recovered from the disease. As of Sunday, the district has 853 active cases of COVID.
 

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