Clearly, there is respite in large coastal clusters like Poonthura, Adimalathura and Pulluvila but the virus is showing dangerous activity in other parts of the coast.

A small coastal hamlet, Anchuthengu, alone accounted for 106 positive cases on Thursday, nearly half the 219 cases recorded in Thiruvananthapuram on the day. The coastal wards of Kottapuram and Venganoor are showing a spike in virus activity; 63 were tested in the area and 14 were positive.

Same is the situation nearly 30 kilometres north, in Kadinamkulam, where 25 were tested and 11 were found positive. Among the infected were the Thumba ward member Roludone V and his family. Roludone is suspected to have been infected by the workers in the KINFRA cluster, all of whom live in Thumba.

But the original big clusters seem to have left the worst behind. Poonthura had less than 10 cases in the last five days. Adimalathura and Ambalathumoola in Kottukal had less than four cases in the last five days. There were only five cases in Pozhiyoor in the last week. Karumkulam, which has several hotspots like Pulluvila, Puthiyathura and Kochuthura, had only 15 cases in the last week.

How long can the fishermen starve

The encouraging fall in the number of COVID positive cases in worst-hit coastal zones is a sign that the virus, though raging in certain other parts of the coast, could be quickly reined in if containment measures are strictly implemented.

But when the COVID-related ban on fishing will be lifted and the Vizhinjam and Muthalapozhi harbours will be crowded with fishermen desperate for work, it is feared that social distancing will become impossible to enforce. Fishing activities was supposed to resumed today. However, Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma in a statement released late night on Thursday, said fishing can restart only on August 10. 

There is a point beyond which the poor fishermen families along the coast cannot be deprived of their livelihoods. Already, because of COVID, they have lost five weeks of their most lucrative season.

A year without 'chakara'

It is during the trawling ban period (from June 8 to July 30 this year) that small fishermen make the most of the sea. "During this period, when the sea becomes their exclusive property, these poor fishermen in small semi-mechanised boats get a daily bounty in the form of prawns and squids. There are days when each of the fishermen who go out in a boat pockets Rs 30,000. But the period is also highly risky as the weather would be very rough," said Peter Solomon, the Poonthura ward councillor.

But Peter said going out fishing on a rough June or July sea was still worth the risk. "It is the only time of the year these fishermen can make some savings out of his daily earnings. This year COVID has robbed them of their earnings," he said.

A fine balance: Fishing vs Social Distancing

The district administration is trying to achieve a fragile balance: one the one hand, livelihoods have to be restored and on the other, the virus has to be kept in check.

It has come out with guidelines for fishing in both Vizhinjam and Muthalappozhi harbours. On a day only 600 boats can go fishing from Vizhinjam, and from Muthalapozhi, only 400; this is a fraction of what normally leaves these harbours daily.

And these boats should be registered with the respective fisheries stations a day before the expedition begins.

Further, to control the crowd, each coastal area has been given specific fishing days. For instance, people in Vizhinjam will have three days: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday. Fishermen from Pozhiyoor to Chowara: Tuesday. And fishermen from Poonthura to Veli: Thursday and Friday.

Also, entry to these harbours will be barred. Only wholesalers who had secured advance passes from harbours will be allowed to purchase the fish. Retail fish vendors will not be allowed to buy fish, and door to door selling of fish has been prohibited.

There will be no auction either. Fish prices will also be fixed, and the prices of each variety will be displayed prominently at the harbours.

The administration can control, even if only to an extent, what happens in harbours but what about fishing. “We cannot practice social distancing inside the boat. All of us will have to stand close and pull the net in a special rhythm,” said Cleetus, a fisherman from Anchuthengu who is readying to take his boat out into the sea with four others early on August 7.

The administration says not more than five can travel in a boat. If it is a large inboard vessel, 30 is maximum.

Will fish rot in harbours

However, coastal folk say that considerably more loads of fish would reach the harbours daily than what the wholesalers could manage to take. "What is the Fisheries Department going to do with the remaining fish if they are not selling it to local fish vendors, most of them women. Will they allow it to rot in the harbours," said Yesudasan Stephen, the vice president of Anchuthengu panchayat.

It is said that there would be fish left even if local fish vendors were allowed to sell locally.

Health authorities fear that some fish vendors could get hold of the remaining stock and transport it outside. "If this happens, it would be a catastrophe," a health inspector based in Vizhinjam said.

"The spread is intense in these places. Even old people who have kept inside their homes have tested positive. Till now we have managed to contain the virus within the coast. If vendors from these places get out of these critical containment zones to sell fish, we might witness a wave of new cases in the city areas," he added.