Thiruvananthapuram’s COVID-19 case graph went up by 856 graph on Thursday, pushing the number of active cases in the district to 11,487.
The death toll jumped to 227 with nine more deaths in the district being attributed to the disease by the National Institute of Virology, Alappuzha. The deceased included natives of Pallithura (62-year-old), Pulluvila (52), Nedumangad (92), Muringavilakom (75), Neyyattinkara (61), Parassala (73), Chala (45), Attingal (61), and Kottoor (82).
While 708 people contracted the infection through local transmission, the source of infection of 109 other people was unknown. Twenty-nine health workers also were among those infected. There were five imported cases, among which four had come from other States while one person had come from abroad recently. A total of 363 people were discharged after recovering from the disease on Thursday.
Vulnerable segments
The pandemic continued to affect vulnerable sections in large numbers. While 130 people of those infected were aged above 60 years, 72 children aged below 15 years also tested positive.
Perhaps for the first time in several months, Thiruvananthapuram dropped to the fourth position among districts in daily caseload tally. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said during his customary briefing that the gravity of the situation remained unchanged in the capital district.
He said that while all efforts were taken to propagate awareness and contain the COVID-19 spread, large sections remained unwilling to adhere to the guidelines.
Crowded malls
“The district has begun to witness large crowds in shopping malls during the evenings and holidays. Many people have been bringing children to places that witness heavy rush. More worryingly, the same scenario prevailed near hospitals. There has also been instances of pregnant women visiting shops in the vicinity of hospitals. All such factors have been contributing to the mounting caseload in the district,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan also flagged the growing number of COVID-19 cases among those aged below 40 years. “Notably, people belonging to the same age group have been found to gather in large numbers. Considering a majority of deaths being reported in the State were of senior citizens aged above 60 years, the youth should exercise greater caution while returning to their houses from outside,” he said.
District Collector Navjot Khosa appealed to the public for restraint in areas that had an average of over 50 active COVID-19 cases, especially within the Corporation limits. These included places coming under Vattiyurkavu urban primary health centre (UPHC) (259 cases), Attukal UPHC (238), Vettucaud UPHC (236), Nemom zone (233), Kalippankulam UPHC (207) and Chala UPHC (204).
