Three more councillors in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation have tested positive on Thursday. Four were declared positive on July 22 and now a total of seven Corporation councillors, two of them standing committee chairmen, have been infected. It is still not clear how they were infected, none had come into contact with a positive person or anyone with travel history. And since they were highly active in their wards, their infection is seen as a sign of silent spread in the capital city.
The councillors declared positive on July 21: Geetha Gopal (Muttada), Remya Ramesh S R (Pattom), Althara Anil Kumar (Cheruvaikal) and Helen G (Vazhottukonam). Those declared positive on Thursday: Vanchyoor P Babu (Vanchiyoor), Sudarshanan C (Chellamangalam) and M V Jayalekshmi (Thampanoor). Among them are five CPM councillors and one each of the Congress and the BJP.
Vanchiyoor P Babu and Sudarshanan are standing committee chairmen of 'Development' and 'Education and Sports' respectively. By now 60 of the 100 councillors have been tested. Many results are awaited. The samples of councillors along the coastal wards are yet to be taken.
None of the seven, now isolated at a First-Line Treatment Centre at Vikas Bhavan in the capital, has shown any symptoms.
One of the councillors who had tested positive on July 21 had visited the Ulloor Zonal Office of the Corporation and so the zonal office was shut down promptly.
The standing committee chairmen attend review meetings at the main Corporation office every two days. "I must have got it from the main office as all the three cases in my ward had recovered long ago," education standing committee chairman and Chellamangalam councillor Sudarshanan said.
Vanchiyoor P Babu has largely kept to his house but had attended these review meetings. However, the Pothys institutional cluster comes under his ward.
Mayor K Sreekumar is also under threat as it was he who chaired these review meetings scheduled every alternate day.
Two contingent workers in the Corporation had earlier tested positive, and both were from Poonthura.
Thampanoor councillor Jayalekshmi said it had been a while since she went to the man office. She gave her sample five days ago. "I gave it randomly not because I had any symptoms but by way of extra caution. But the results came only today. I was active in my ward but there are no positive cases there," Jayalekshmi said.
