The district on Saturday recorded its highest number of fresh COVID-19 cases with 1,154 persons testing positive for the virus infection. According to officials, the daily number of cases crossed the 1,000 mark on a single day for the first time. The test positivity for the day stood at a high 20.8%.
The fresh cases also included 147 children and 176 persons aged above 60. Among the local bodies, Kottayam reported 142 cases, followed by Athirampuzha with 50 cases.
With 264 recoveries during the day, the district currently has 5,850 patients. As per official estimates, 22.4% of the patients are accommodated in the treatment centres while 4,067 persons are in home isolation. As on April 16, as many as 2,132 beds are available in treatment centres in Kottayam.
Kottayam District Police Chief D. Shilpa enforces COVID-19 protocol on a bus in Kottayam on Saturday.
In Alappuzha, 908 persons tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. The fresh cases include 893 people who contracted the disease through local transmission. The source of infection of five people remains unknown.
Besides, 10 people who came from other States were also diagnosed with the disease. The active COVID-19 caseload stands at 4,562, with 294 people recovering. A meeting chaired by District Collector A. Alexander on Saturday decided to open eight COVID first-line treatment centres.
In Pathanamthitta, 664 persons tested positive during the day. With 56 cases, Thiruvalla led the tally, followed by Pathanamthitta with 47 cases. As many as 8,179 persons were subjected to testing during the second day of the testing campaign on Saturday, taking the total number of tests over the last two days to 15,988. The district currently has 3,293 cases while 60,527 have recovered so far. A.L. Sheeja, District Medical Officer, Pathanamthitta, attributed the sharp rise in the number of cases to the high number of tests.
472 in Kollam
Kollam reported 472 new cases on Saturday, while 317 persons recovered from COVID-19. Those who tested positive include 462 contact cases, one NRI, two persons from other States and seven health workers.
District Collector B. Abdul Nasar said that non-compliance of COVID-19 protocol would not be tolerated and strict action would be taken against all violators. “All business outlets should maintain social distancing norms and special squads have been deployed for surveillance. More treatment centres will be opened and availability of vaccine will be ensured. In the last two days more than 20,000 tests were conducted,” he said.
The police have strengthened monitoring and 121 teams have been formed for the purpose. “In the last 24 hours action was taken against 3,655 persons for not wearing masks, and 1,421 persons for not maintaining social distancing,” said District Police Chief T. Narayanan.
