Fifty-eight persons tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Malappuram district on Tuesday, and 22 of them were found to have been infected through local transmission.
Twenty-one of them, including two children below 10 years of age, were found positive during a special surveillance being held in Ponnani.
District Collector K. Gopalakrishnan said that 29 of the newly confirmed cases had returned from abroad and seven from other States. The total number of infected persons currently under treatment in Malappuram rose to 591 on Tuesday.
Seven of the 22 persons infected through local contacts in Ponnani were above 60 years of age. The youngest of them was a five-year-old child and the oldest an 80-year-old man.
As many as 42,236 people were quarantined in the district. So far 14,216 samples were sent for testing, and 12,205 returned. The test results of 2,011 samples were yet to come, said Mr. Gopalakrishnan.
He asked those who had come into contact with the infected persons to go into home quarantine. They should also alert health officials. If they develop any symptoms, they should not approach a hospital directly. Instead they should contact the district control room at 0483 2737858, 2737857, 2733251, 2733252, 2733253.
In Thrissur
In biggest single-day spike, Thrissur recorded 42 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
With this, the total number of positive cases reported from the district rose to 673. Out of the 42 cases on Tuesday, 32 persons contracted the disease through local transmission. Among them were 19 Kudumbashree workers. The vicar of West Koratty Church was among the infected and the source of his infection has not been identified yet.
The District Collector has declared the 12th division of Kunnamkulam Municipality and wards 9,13 and 14 of Muriyad panchayat as new containment zones.
As COVID-19 was confirmed in municipal workers, the office of the Kunnamkulam Municipality was closed.
To assess the spread of COVID-19, antigen tests will be conducted in the district from Wednesday.
In Palakkad
Twenty-six persons tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Palakkad district on Tuesday. Eighteen of them had returned from the UAE, three from Saudi Arabia, two from Karnataka, one from Oman, and one from Kuwait.
A 53-year-old man from Kottopadam apparently got the infection from a primary contact. He had interacted with a man from Alappuzha who was working at Agriculture University, Mannuthy.
The total number of infected persons currently under treatment in the district rose to 299 on Tuesday. Apart from them, ten persons from Palakkad are being treated in other districts.
As many as 49 infected persons recovered from COVID-19 on Tuesday, said District Medical Officer K.P. Reeta.
The district administration will carry out antigen tests for COVID-19 in major markets, including Valiyangadi, from Wednesday.
The 144 antigen tests conducted at the Armed Reserve Police (ARP) camp at Muttikulangara on Tuesday were found negative, said Dr. Reeta.
In Kasaragod
Local transmission cases in Kasaragod is on the rise. Of the 44 persons tested positive for the virus in the district on Tuesday, 20 got infected through contact. Nine persons had come from other States and 15 had returned from abroad, said District Medical Officer A.V. Ramdas.
The sources of infection has been traced by the Health Department, except in one case.
Those infected through contact were residents of Meencha, Manjeswaram, Chengala, Chemmanad, Madhur, Kasaragod, and Mogral Puthur.
Rapid antigen tests are being conducted at vegetable markets and other areas where contact cases have been reported.
Dr. Ramdas said swab examination of 163 patients in the first few days had revealed six COVID-19 cases.
In Kannur
Twelve more persons tested positive for the virus in Kannur on Tuesday.
According to District Collector T.V. Subhash, of the 12 cases, three had come from abroad and six had come from other States. Two were CISF personnel and one got infected through contact.
In Wayanad
Wayanad district reported 12 more COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
One among them arrived from abroad and 11 came from other States, including a couple from Telangana.
Of the 197 cases reported in the district so far, 99 have been cured.
(With inputs from Palakkad, Kasaragod, Thrissur, Kannur, and Wayanad bureaus)
