In Thiruvananthapuram, it is no more a large virus cluster that confines itself to the Poonthura belt. The virus has swept virtually the whole of the Thiruvananthapuram coast, from Poovar in the south to Anchuthengu in the north, making the outbreak seem like an enormous coastal cluster.
The entire coastal area in the district will be put under lockdown from July 18 (Saturday).
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during his customary sunset briefing in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, conceded that there was community transmission along the Thiruvananthapuram coast.
Yet again, for the fourth day in a row, Thiruvananthapuram topped the list of new cases. On Friday, it was 246, the fifth time the district recorded over 100 cases. The only other districts to record more than 100 cases are Alappuzha and Ernakulam, and that too only once.
Nearly 200 of the 246 cases reported on Friday are from the coastal areas of the district.
Shocking positivity rate
The detection rate is alarming across the coast. For instance, 97 samples were tested in Karumkulam panchayat, which includes Pulluvila ward, on Friday and 51 tested positive. Yesterday, 72 had tested positive when 150 samples were taken. The entire panchayat has been closed down from Friday morning.
In Poonthura, within the Corporation limits, 50 tests were conducted and 26 were found positive. Though high, the results do not reflect the depth of the problem in the Poonthura belt, which includes Poonthura, Manikyavilakom, Beemapally East and Puthenpally wards.
The 50 samples were taken from these four wards together. Of this 37 were taken from Poonthura ward alone, and 17 tested positive. Only 11 samples were taken from Manikyavilakom but eight of hem were positive. From Beemapally East only two samples were taken and the two were positive.
Ward members Onmanorama talked to complained that many people are reluctant to appear for the tests. "They feel it is better to stay at home than go to the collection centre where the chances of infection are higher," Poonthura ward member Peter Solomon said.
Far up north, and outside the Corporation limits, Kadinamkulam panchayat, which includes Puthukurichy, has once again shown a spike in cases. 75 samples were taken in the area and 20 were found positive; yesterday 26 tested positive when 100 samples were tested.
In the nearby fishing hamlet of Anchuthengu, 83 samples were tested and 15 were found positive; yesterday 31 tested positive when 100 samples were taken.
Pockets of hope
Nonetheless, some comfort could be drawn from the less number of cases reported from the areas surrounding the Poonthura cluster like Vizhnjam, Kottapuram, Harbour and Venganoor wards. Except for Kottapuram, which had six cases on the day, the other wards recorded just three or less fresh cases.
These areas are as densely populated as Poonthura or Manikyavilakom but still have shown greater discipline in social distancing and the wearing of masks. Constant awareness messages through loudspeakers from churches and mosques in these areas seem to be working.
Capial city: Calm before the storm?
The heart of the city looks relatively safe though the COVID explosion among the employees of Ramachandran Hyper Market (17 more of its employees were declared positive today) and the breakdown of preventive protocols in Thiruvananthapuram Medical College and other hospitals are issues of great concern.
On Friday, two patients who were admitted to the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) were found positive and were immediately shifted to the Medical College nearby. Over 20 healthcare staff in Cardiology and Cardiosurgery units of SCTIMST have been asked to go into quarantine.
Low testing could be a reason why only scattered cases have been reported in the city areas.
Lurking threat in Chala
Raising the possibility that actual numbers in the city could actually be disguised, a worker in the Chala market, a crammed area where immense trading activity goes on, was declared positive on Friday.
It was fever and cough that had led to the man's testing. "But this is a clear sign that many related to the market could actually be virus carriers. The thought is scary as hundreds had swarmed the market daily when it was open," said Chala ward member S K P Ramesh.
Fortunately, unlike Kumarichantha fish market, Chala was closed by the third week of June.
Lockdown zones
For the effective implementation of the coastal lockdown, the coast will be divided into three zones. From Anchuthengu to Perumathura, it will be Zone I. Perumathura to Vizhnjam, Zone II. Vizhinjam to Oorambu, Zone III.
The lockdown will be supervised by a special police team led by Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner Balram Kumar Upadhyaya. Zone I will be under Traffic South Superintendent of Police (SP) B Krishnakumar. Zone II will be under Vigilance SP K E Byju. And Zone III will be under Police Training College principal K L John Kutty. DySPs, too, have been deputed for these three zones.
Each zone will also have two senior IAS officers as Incident Commanders. Zone I - Harikishore, U V Jose. Zone II - M G Rajamanickam and Balakiran. Zone III - Venketesapathy, Biju Prabhakar.
