With the number of COVID-19 cases in the district rising consistently over the past few weeks, the heavy rain and consequent flooding could complicate the district’s efforts to contain the virus, besides leading to several monsoon-related diseases.
Additional District Medical Officer Dr. S. Sreedevi said that the protocol in the State Disaster Management Authority’s orange book would have to be adhered to strictly. “We will have to be careful. When we say COVID protocol must be followed during rescue operations and in relief camps, that could also be difficult to do in this situation,” she said. The orange book lays down the standard operating procedure for various departments to follow in the wake of a disaster. “Separate relief camps have been set aside for people in quarantine. Symptomatic patients could be accommodated in first-line treatment centres that are currently lying empty in some places. Patient transport and ambulances have been arranged and that will not be a problem,” said Dr. Mathews Numpelil, district programme manager, National Health Mission.
Chellanam, which has recorded over 250 positive cases so far, continues to reel from sea incursions and people are being moved to camps. But the test positivity rate had fallen in the area, which is a good sign, Dr. Numpelil said. Chellanam, however, recorded nine fresh cases on Friday.
The Health Department is also bracing for a slew of monsoon-related diseases. “Cases of leptospirosis are on the rise, and with the floods and stagnant water in a lot of places, people will have to be vigilant,” said Dr. Vinod Paulose, District Surveillance Officer for non-COVID-19 diseases. This year, the district has, uptill now, witnessed 148 cases of leptospirosis and three deaths from the disease. For leptospirosis, doxycycline is available in government hospitals as well as with ASHA workers, he said, but with the coronavirus doing the rounds, people tended to self-medicate with analgesics to avoid a visit to a hospital, and this could often be fatal, he said. Other water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid, jaundice and cholera could also see a rise unless people were careful with their potable water. The Kochi Corporation area had been seeing an increase in cases of dengue as well, Dr. Paulose said.
For areas that were already dealing with the onslaught of the coronavirus, the flood is another blow. Officials at the Chengamanad panchayat, for instance, were in a dilemma on Friday morning when they realised that water had entered the house of a man who was in quarantine and he might have to be shifted to a separate camp. But since he had remained in quarantine for 10 days, an ambulance was dispatched to take him for a test immediately, where he tested negative, said panchayat president Dileep K. The panchayat has recorded several positive cases in the past few weeks.
The Aluva Municipality, which has also seen many positive cases in the past few weeks, besides flooding on Friday, the number of people in quarantine had fallen to about two or three after widespread testing, said Timmy Teacher, health standing committee chairperson.
