The majority of fresh COVID-19 cases reported in Kozhikode district on Saturday contracted the disease through local transmission even as the district is poised for a complete lockdown on Sunday.
According to District Medical Officer V. Jayasree, 22 of the 26 new cases were through contact with infected persons. Nineteen of them tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in antigen tests conducted at Nadapuram, Vadakara, and Koduvally. The newly infected are from Maniyoor, Koduvally, Eramala, Vadakara, Thooneri, and Purameri. There are two from Kallayi, within the Kozhikode Corporation limits. The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the district is 324. Of the nine persons who recovered from the infection, five are from Kozhikode city. The others are from Eramala, Onchiyam, Unnikulam, and Perambra.
Stricter norms
All commercial establishments in the district, including shopping complexes, malls and supermarkets, have been directed to ensure physical distancing on their premises, failing which their licences will be cancelled.
The District Collector on Saturday issued orders for all such establishments to exhibit specifications of their floor area outside the shops and to ensure that people maintain 6-foot distance with each other inside the shops. Air-conditioning inside shops should be switched off and proper ventilation ensured. Sanitisers or hand wash should be made available for customers.
Karkidaka Vavu rituals
No commercial establishments except shops that sell essential commodities and medical shops will be allowed to function on Sunday when a complete lockdown will be observed in the district. People have been advised not to venture out of their houses unless in case of emergencies.
Rituals associated with the Karkidaka Vavu that fall on July 20 and 21 should be restricted to houses. Get-togethers at temples and other places for ‘Bali Tharpanam’ rituals will not be permitted.
In Palakkad
Forty-nine persons, including three children, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Palakkad district on Saturday. Most of them were returnees from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Officials said that the source of infection in four cases could not be detected.
Eighteen of the new cases had returned from Saudi Arabia, 14 from the UAE, two from Tamil Nadu, three from Qatar, two from Karnataka, two from Oman, three from Kuwait and one from Bihar.
One person each from Pattambi, Ottappalam, Palassana, and Cherpulassery tested positive, but their source of infection was unclear.
The total number of infected persons currently under treatment in the district rose to 270 on Saturday.
The district administration imposed tight measures at Pattambi after authorities suspected local spread in a market there.
A.K. Balan, Minister for the Welfare of SC, ST and Backward Classes, however, allayed fears of community spread in Palakkad district. He called upon the people to maintain strict vigil in the wake of the increase in the number of infections.
In Kannur
As many as 39 persons in Kannur district tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Saturday. District Collector T.V. Subhash said while six of them contracted the virus through contact, eight are those who arrived from abroad, while 26 came from other States.
With this, the number of infected persons in the district has reached 827. Of them, 476 were cured of the disease.
In Kasaragod
Twenty-nine persons tested positive for SARS-COV-2 in Kasaragod on Saturday. According to District Medical Officer A.V. Ramdas, five of the confirmed cases came from other States and two from abroad, while the rest contracted the disease through contact.
Meanwhile, seven persons tested negative for the virus on Saturday. As many as 5,946 people are under observation in the district. They include 5,069 in home quarantine and 877 in institutional quarantine.
In Malappuram
Nineteen persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Malappuram district on Saturday. Four of them, including a health worker, contracted the infection through unidentifiable local contacts.
District officials said that 13 of the new cases had returned from abroad while two had come back from other States.
However, 26 persons who were under treatment recovered from the disease on Saturday.
District Police Chief U. Abdul Kareem said that eight cases were registered in Malappuram for violating the healthcare norms.
In Wayanad
Twenty-six persons tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Saturday, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the district to 268. According to District Medical Officer R. Renuka, 11 of the newly infected persons are contacts of patients and 15 others came from abroad and other States.
Of the 268 cases recorded so far, 109 persons have recovered, said Dr. Renuka.
In Thrissur
Twenty-one fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the district on Saturday. Of them seven got infected through contact. Those who were infected through contact included four members of a family, including a one-year-old girl, from Velukkara,
So far, 763 cases have been reported in the district.
Ward 1 of Koratty panchayat, Wards 9 and 10 of Thannyam panchayat, Ward 18 of Kadavallur panchayat, Wards 17 and 18 of Velukkara panchayat, Wards 13 and 14 of Karalam panchayat, Division 20 of Irinjalakuda Municipality, and Division 49 of Thrissur Corporation were classified as containment zones on Saturday.
(With inputs from Palakkad, Kannur, Kasaragod, Malappuram, Wayanad and Thrissur bureaus)
