In the wake of six new COVID-19 cases in Kerala, five in Pathanamthitta and a 3-year-old in Kannur, the Health Department has stepped up surveillance and monitoring. “The condition of all the six infected is stable and satisfactory. There is nothing to worry,” a Health Department bulletin on Monday said.
A 2-year-old from Pathanamthitta is among the 1,116 under observation in various parts of Kerala. Of this, 967 are in home quarantine and the remaining 149 are in isolation in various government and private hospitals. As many as 85 individuals were admitted to various hospitals on Monday.
Three passengers, who had landed at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) from Italy on February 29, tested positive on Saturday along with two of their relatives. It was found that the family failed to report their travel details before the officials.
The largest number under observation is in Thrissur (211), followed by Ernakulam (177), Kasaragod (93), and Kottayam and Kannur (both 83). The least numbers are in Wayanad (15) and Thiruvananthapuram (33).
Serum samples of 807 suspected cases have been sent to the National Institute of Virology. The results of 717 are negative. The remaining results are yet to come, and this includes the samples of the the nonagenarian parents of the head of the family of the Italy returnees. The results of the parents of the three-year-old are also awaited.
Five individuals, who have been in home quarantine for nearly a month, have been found completely out of danger and were allowed to step out of their homes on Monday.
The health bulletin said that the 'contact tracing' of the Italian returnees was being painstakingly carried out. Already, 270 individuals who come into direct contact with the family members have been identified. 449 secondary contacts, people who had come into contact with people who had direct contact with the infected, have also been identified.
All primary and secondary contact are now under the close observation of the Health Department. The complete contact list will be ready by Monday night.
It has also been decided to use the services of ward members to track down individuals who had returned from high-risk countries. In urban areas, representatives of residents' associations will deployed for surveillance and identification.
Meanwhile, the total number of cases in the country has risen to 47, Health Ministry officials said on Monday.
Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu reported one case each. One more case was reported positive for coronavirus by state officials in Karnataka, but there was no immediate confirmation from the Union Health Ministry.
In the wake of rising cases of coronavirus, the Cabinet Secretary held a meeting via video conference with chief secretaries of all states and Union territories on Monday.
As many as 11,913 cases are under Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) community follow-up.
As the COVID-19 scare spread - with 110,041 people from more than 90 countries infected and 3,825 people killed - India sent a military transport aircraft with a specialist medical team to Iran on Monday night to bring back Indians stranded in the nation.
