Even as the Health Department tights its surveillance strategies and revises the guidelines daily to suit new situations, strict filtering of those returning from China and other nCoV-affected countries has not been happening.

“International flights are being monitored, where travellers are asked to stop at the health desk and at the immigration desk and their travel details are collected. However, no such screening seems to be happening at domestic airports. The third patient in Kasaragod, who has been tested positive for nCoV, had flown from Wuhan to Kolkata. From there, he had taken a flight to Bengaluru and yet another flight to Kochi, where he came out through the domestic terminal, with no questions asked. We have no idea how to fill these gaps. We are appealing to all those who have travelled to China recently or are returning from other affected countries to voluntarily report because this is a public health emergency,” a senior Health official told The Hindu.

Contact tracing has become a nightmare in this particular case.

“It is a huge and painstaking task. In every flight, we have to trace the fellow passengers of the patient on the same row of seats, three rows in front and three rows behind. We have sought the help of the police, but this backtracking is sucking up all our resources and manpower,” he added.

Self-reporting

Self-reporting had been happening, but despite all efforts put in by the department, some were wilfully trying to beat the system, he said.

“Home quarantine for 28 days is indeed a difficult proposition. We are suggesting that the persons try to confine themselves to a room as far as possible and reduce interaction with the family,” he added.

Another gap in the system is that the Health Department still has no idea how it can monitor tourist arrivals and how they can be monitored as this is a moving population. As on Tuesday, 2,421 persons with recent travel links to China or other nCoV-affected countries are in surveillance in the State. While 100 people who displayed mild symptoms are in isolation facilities in hospitals, the rest (2,321) are on monitored self- quarantine at their own homes.

Counselling

Health Minister K.K. Shylaja said considering the psycho-social aspects of persons under quarantine and isolation, the department had readied teams of mental health experts in all districts to visit those in homes and hospitals and to counsel them.

Three more persons were admitted to hospitals with symptoms of nCoV in Alappuzha district on Tuesday.

The condition of the student admitted to the isolation ward of the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, with nCoV infection was satisfactory, the District Collector said.

Kasaragod Collector D. Sajith Babu said that the health condition of the patient who was tested positive on Monday was stable and there was no cause for concern. Those who were in contact with the patients were under close monitoring, he said.