For the first time in the State, people in Kannur who have come into contact with COVID-19 patients would be brought under the high-risk group and will be subjected to a swab test even if they are without symptoms.
District Medical Officer (Health) K. Narayana Nayak said Kannur was the first district in the State to take this step.
He said samples of 59 people were collected on April 7 and on the next day, samples of 17 people were collected. Primary contacts in home isolation will be sent to the Kannur District Hospital, Thalassery General Hospital, Government Medical College Hospital, Kannur, and COVID-19 Medical Centre at Anjarakandy, Dr. Nayak said.
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People in quarantine
The DMO said the number of people in quarantine was on the decline.
To date, there have been 14,286 quarantined people at hospitals and homes. Currently, there are 8,574 people in quarantine. Of the 5,712 people who have completed the quarantine period to date, 1,070 completed the process on Thursday.
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At present, only 51 persons were under observation at the 12 corona care centres in the district. On Thursday, 189 people returned home after completing the quarantine, he added.