Kannur: Following the death of an 80-year-old man due to COVID-19 infection, the Panoor municipality here has advised people to take precautions against the spread of the disease. The local body has also imposed restrictions on public gatherings and made wearing of mask mandatory in public places.

On Friday, Abdulla (80) of Palakkandy House, succumbed to the virus infection. He was undergoing treatment for cough and breathing difficulties at a private hospital in Kozhikode. 

This is the second death due to COVID-19 in the northern districts in the past two days. On Friday, K P Kumaran (77) of Vattoli succumbed to Covid infection. 

Following Abdulla's demise, K P Mohanan MLA convened a meeting of health officers and municipal authority officials to discuss the precautionary measures to be taken to prevent the virus spread. 

“We are observing high vigil across the municipal area to avoid the spread of the virus. A slew of decisions has been taken at the meeting chaired by the MLA. Wearing of mask has been made mandatory from Saturday. Police were asked to take steps to avoid unnecessary gatherings," said Town ward member P K Praveen.    

Health workers will initiate a special drive to identify people who suffer from fever and those who show Covid symptoms will be kept under observation. It was also decided to trace people who have come under close contact with the deceased and put them in home quarantine.

Meanwhile, Kerala reported a case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 on December 8. The sample from a 79-year-old woman had returned a positive result in an RT-PCR test on November 18, they said, adding that she had mild symptoms of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and had recovered from COVID-19.