Three from abroad test positive in Kottayam

As cases go up, officials increase the number of tests

With three more persons who had returned from abroad testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the total number of patients in the district rose to 19 on Thursday.

According to officials, those who tested positive for the disease included a man and woman, both aged 29 years, from Changanassery and a 27-year-old man from Kodungoor, near Vazhur. None of them had developed any symptoms of the infection.

The man from Veroor in Changanassery landed from Abu Dhabi on May 17 and was undergoing institutional quarantine at a centre in Gandhinagar.

The second patient from Changanassery, a woman from Mamood, landed from Dammam and gave birth at the Government Medical College (GMC) on May 13.Though discharged from the hospital on May 19 after having tested negative, she was later confirmed positive for the infection.

267 samples sent

The Kodungoor native, who was admitted to the GMC here on Thursday, had landed from Saudi Arabia.

In view of the sharp surge in cases, the district health officials have raised the number of tests considerably over the past couple days. The authorities have sent 267 samples for test over the last two days.

Migrant workers leave

Meanwhile, 610 inter-State workers returned to Jharkhand from the district on Thursday. The workers had been brought to the Kottayam railway station on 20 KSRTC buses from their camps across the district. The train left the station at 3.45 p.m.

With this, the total number of migrant workers returning from the district has increased to 4,557. Another batch of 1,464 migrant passengers are slated to leave for Berhampore Court railway station in West Bengal on Friday evening.