After remaining in the lower strata of COVID-19 cases for long, Idukki witnessed a spurt in numbers with 20 people, including a health worker, testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Wednesday.
District Medical Officer N. Priya said those tested positive included 12 people who returned from other States and six persons who came back from the Gulf.
One was a primary contact and the other a secondary contact.
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All those who came from outside the State were either in home quarantine or at COVID care centres.
The health worker was the secondary contact of two patients at Kattappana.
Among those tested positive included two migrant workers from West Bengal who reached the district on June 30.
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She said there was only one case with no known sources of infection so far. The person had tested positive before a surgery and health officials were pursuing the case.
This was the second time the district was witnessing such a spurt in cases. Earlier, 11 positive cases were reported on June 20.
First case
The first COVID-19 case was reported in the district on March 15.
The hilly topography and low density of population had helped in checking the spread of the disease in the district. In addition, the number of NoRKS from the district was also comparatively low.
A health official said closure of inter-State roads and monitoring of border routes also helped in containing the disease in the district.