The district logged 82 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. Local transmission cases formed the majority of the day’s caseload with 43 contracting the disease through contact.
Three health workers, three personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at the Nooranad unit, 22 people who came from abroad, nine who returned from other States and a 49-year-old man from Muhamma also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The Muhamma native’s source of infection is unknown.
The swab test results of an 85-year-old woman from Chettikkad who died on Wednesday also tested positive on the day. With this, the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the district touched four.
Clusters
Among the contact cases are six Kayamkulam natives on the contact list of COVID-19 patients associated with the Kayamkulam market; five from Vettakkal on the contact list of COVID-19 patients with links to a seafood factory at Ezhupunna; and one each from Pattanakkad and Pallithode on the contact list of patients associated with the Chellanam harbour. Rest of the contact cases are from Kadakkarappally, Mararikulam, Karuvatta, Alappuzha, Thuravoor, Pattanakkad, Punnapra, Pallana, Mavelikara, Pallithode, Eramalloor, Mannancherry, Kattoor, Kannanakuzhy, Thazhava and Ambalappuzha.
Three health workers who found to have contracted the disease hail from Cherthala, Cherthala South and Mararikulam.
Apart from the already identified COVID-19 clusters at Kayamkulam, Kurathikad, Nooranad, Pallithode and Ezhupunna, new clusters are feared in the district following a surge in local contact cases and cases with unknown sources of infection in recent days.
The district administration has decided to provide reverse quarantine facilities for elderly people in coastal areas in Cherthala taluk who test negative in antigen tests. District Collector A. Alexander said that reverse quarantine would be provided to people above 65 years. They would be put in quarantine at S.N. College, Cherthala and St. Michael’s College, Cherthala.
Meanwhile, 40 people, including 10 ITBP personnel, tested negative on the day.
