In the largest single-day spike in COVID-19 positive cases through local contact in the district so far, 34 out of the 47 persons who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Saturday acquired the infection through local transmission. The district also recorded a third COVID-19-related death.
A 79-year-old native of Rayamangalam who died at a hospital in Kolenchery on Friday night has tested positive after his death. He had visited a hospital in Valayanchirangara with fever and the hospital has been closed and staff members have gone into quarantine. When symptoms worsened, he had visited the hospital in Kolenchery on Friday morning. Panchayat officials said that some of his family members had had fever earlier and recovered. His son, a KSEB employee, was working in Aluva.
Twelve people who tested positive from Keezhmad panchayat and a 38-year-old from Kavalangad were all on the contact list of a building contractor who had tested positive earlier. The patients had all attended a pre-wedding ceremony together in Keezhmad on June 27. The source of infection of the building contractor was unknown and 14 of his contacts had tested positive so far, panchayat officials said.
Swabs collected
Swabs of 50 persons in the panchayat were collected on Saturday. A 45-year-old private bus service employee from Keezhmad who was on the primary contact list of another patient has also tested positive.
Seven people linked to the Aluva area have contracted the disease. A 23-year-old and a 25-year-old, both sanitation workers at the Aluva Municipality, have also tested positive. One of them had been on the contact list of a tea-shop owner in Aluva.
A 67-year-old from Veliyathunad has tested positive. He had visited markets at Aluva and Maradu and might have acquired the infection from there. A 35-year-old native of Choornikkara and a 51-year-old resident of Sreemoolanagaram have also tested positive. Both of them had visited the Aluva market.
A 67-year-old resident of Keezhmad who works as a security guard at a company in Aluva and a 64-year-old family member of his have acquired the infection.
A 62-year-old and a 43-year-old of Chellanam, who are close relatives of two patients who had tested positive earlier, have tested positive for the virus. A 40-year-old from Chellanam who had come in contact with an Alappuzha-based COVID-19 positive fisherman, has also contracted the disease.
A 53-year-old colleague of a patient from Maradu who had tested positive earlier, and her 21-year-old relative, residents of Edappally, have tested positive.
A 24-year-old from Thammanam who was on the primary contact list of a patient from Vennala has also tested positive.
Six people, residents of Kumbalangi, Puthencruz, Chellanam, Pandikudy and Thrikkakara, who were colleagues at a private company in Alappuzha, have also tested positive. Another employee of the company had tested positive in Alappuzha earlier.
A 27-year-old employee of a hotel who was on the primary contact list of the Alangad-based journalist who had tested positive earlier this week, has also acquired the infection.
Twelve people who tested positive on Saturday arrived from outside the State. Only three recoveries were recorded and 274 people are currently being treated for the disease in the district. A total of 651 samples were sent for testing and additional samples have been collected from Aluva and Chellanam areas.
