Chellanam cluster shares a chunk of 58 local transmissions

July 30, 2020 12:46 am | Updated 12:46 am IST - KOCHI

In a resurgence from the area, 16 persons, including two health workers, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 from the Chellanam cluster on Wednesday.

They were among the 58 people who tested positive through local transmission of the virus. A total of 17 persons who arrived from outside the State have also tested positive, taking the district tally for the day to 83.

The Aluva cluster and the nearby panchayats continue to register new positive cases — two persons from Aluva, five from Kadungaloor, and seven from Edathala have tested positive. Four health workers at a private hospital in Aluva have also been infected.

Five positive cases were reported from Fort Kochi. Three persons from Cheranalloor and two from Kalamassery have also tested positive. District Collector S. Suhas had earlier flagged the Kalamassery and Cheranalloor regions as emerging areas of concern, where a number of cases were being reported, but scattered over a larger area.

Fifty-eight people recovered from the disease, and 827 are being treated. As many as 886 samples were sent for testing on Wednesday, and the results of 968 tests remain pending.

West Kochi

Several areas of West Kochi have been reeling from the disease. So far, 18 persons have tested positive just from Kalvathy, said councillor Zeenath Rashid. Some of them are fish workers, she added. Around 150 samples for testing were collected from the area on Wednesday.

After an autorickshaw driver tested positive in the West Kochi area on Tuesday, nearly 60 autorickshaw drivers were tested.

Mayor Soumini Jain said first-line treatment centres (FLTCs) in the area, one in Mattancherry and the other at Palluruthy, would be inspected by the Health Department on Thursday before they could begin functioning. The FLTCs are also awaiting staff appointments, she added. Another FLTC is also likely to come up at the community hall at Kalvathy.

In a meeting with Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar on Wednesday, suggestions were made to shift primary contacts of COVID-positive patients in West Kochi to institutional or paid quarantine facilities to prevent the infection from spreading further among those who live in close proximity, the Mayor said.

Waterlogging in some areas had exacerbated the troubles of living in containment zones, said Jayanthi Premnath, councillor representing Panayappilly.

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