Malappuram SP, District Collector who led Kozhikode crash rescue ops test Covid-19 positive

Malappuram Superintendent of Police (SP) U Abdul Karim, who led the rescue operations of the Air India plane crash in Karipur, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday. Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan also contracted the infection. He, too, was part of the team that conducted the rescue operations after the plane crash, which killed 18 people, including the pilot and the co-pilot. Both Karim and Gopalakrishnan are in hospital and undergoing treatment for the disease.

At least two passengers travelling home from Dubai on the ill-fated aircraft had tested positive for Covid-19. Following the accident, the Kerala Health Ministry had urged all those involved in relief operations to go into quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus. Kondotty, where the airport is located, is a containment zone with a high Covid-19 positivity rate.

Medical personnel in personal protective wear attend to passengers of the Air India Express, which crash landed at Kozhikode airport on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (AP Photo: Shijith Sreedhar)

At least 202 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Malappuram district on Thursday. Of this, 158 had contracted the disease through contacts, including four health workers.

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Kerala posted its highest-ever single day spike of 1,564 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, including 15 health care workers, taking its total infection count to 39,708. State Health Minister K K Shailaja said 766 people had recovered from the disease on the same day, taking the number of those cured in the state to 25,692.