Giving rise to fears of community transmission, as many as 22 people out of the 25 who tested positive for COVID-19 got it through contact. These include 15 persons from the Parathodu panchayat, who contracted COVID-19 through local contact.
Officials said a new cluster had been formed in Parathodu panchayat, where a 72-year-old COVID-19 patient died a couple of days ago. Though the patient tested negative before death, as many as 18 persons in his contact list have tested positive so far. This included 12 persons in ward 8 of the local body where the person had resided and three others from his neighbouring wards .
Meanwhile, two more persons who had been in the contact list of the COVID-19 patient from Manarcad tested positive during the day, taking the total number of persons in the particular cluster to 14.
According to health authorities, a total of 72 persons have contracted the virus through local contact in Kottayam.
Special team
Taking a serious note of the local contact cases in Parathodu, a team comprising experts from the Community Medicine Department at the Government Medical College, Kottayam will be sent to the local body for coordinating the pandemic prevention activities.
Meanwhile, nine persons who recovered from the disease were discharged from various hospitals here on Wednesday.
