Thiruvananthapuram: A total of 3,313 people are under observation for suspected coronavirus infection across Kerala even as the state reported no positive case on Wednesday.
“Of the 3,313 people under observation, 3,020 have been home quarantined and 293 hospitalised,” state health minister K K Shailaja told media persons.
The minister said a total of 1,179 samples have been sent for tests so far. Of these, 889 returned negative. Results of 273 cases are awaited.
Most of the quarantined people are from Pathanamthitta district where the authorities have done an efficient contract tracing.
“Eleven squads of trained people covered the district to trace the people who had come in contact with those who have been tested positive for the virus infection. A total of 969 people have been quarantined in the district,” Shailaja said.
“Of them, 129 are in the high risk category. This means, they had come in close contact with the infected people,” the minister said.
As many as seven people from Pathanamthitta, four in Kottayam and three in Kochi have been tested positive in the state so far.
In Kottayam, 60 people who had come in contact with positive cases have been traced.
In Ernakulam, 131 people have been identified as those who came in contact with the infected child and his parents. Of them, 33 are in the high risk category.
The minister said screening has been going effectively at airports and seaport. She said more people from affected countries have been coming back to Kerala of late.
The minister said the service of local self government ward members and panchayat committees will be utilised for tracing those who have returned from the affected countries. “This is aimed at taking the message to the grassroots level. We are trying not to miss out on even a single such person,” she said.
The minister said the government was exploring the options to enhance the production of hand sanitiser in the wake of its shortage being reported.
The minister advised the public to wash hands frequently using soap in case of non-availability of sanitiser.
The minister said the method of tracing those who contacted the infected by creating a flowchart of the patients' travels after coming to Kerala was successful.
Using these charts, the public can find out whether they were at the places visited by the patients recently and seek medical help.
