Test positivity rate of COVID-19 cases in Kozhikode, the percentage of people who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 during lab tests per a given sample size, on Monday was reported to be 18.01% even as the district administration termed the situation here as “very critical”.
According to the District Medical Officer, 869 people tested positive for the virus when 4,824 samples were tested and 5,549 results were made available in the past 24 hours. The ideal test positivity rate is below 5%. As many as 806 of these people acquired the infection through local transmission and the source was unknown in 55 cases. Payyoli, Peruvayal and Kozhikode Corporation are the clusters in the district with a large number of infected persons. The number of active cases stands at 11,058.
Eleven deaths were reported from Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, in the past two days. They include a five-month-old baby from Malappuram. Eight of them were reported on Sunday and the rest on Monday.
Alert sounded
District Collector S. Sambasiva Rao said in a release that an alert had been sounded in view of the opinion of health experts. The number of cases is spiralling every day and there is a rise in symptomatic patients as well. It had come to such a pass that the hospitals in the district would not be able to handle the caseload. Senior citizens, people with other health issues, and those with reduced immunity are at risk. Pointing out that the rise in the number of cases might also lead to more deaths, Mr. Rao called for strict enforcement of the COVID protocol.
Meanwhile, the authorities are planning to form ‘Jagrata Communities’ of 20 houses each in every wards of local bodies. Voluntary activists would ensure the compliance of the protocol through these communities.
