THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has ruled out any lapses on its part in identifying the three Pathanamthitta natives who arrived from Italy, and were affected by Covid-19. Health minister K K Shailaja said in the assembly that there are limitations for the government in identifying all such passengers unless they honestly declare their travel details.
Replying to a submission in this regard by opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, the minister said the passengers who had arrived from Italy had not disclosed their travel to Italy. Instead, they said that they came back from Doha which was then not under screening. The minister said that the containment method followed by the government is effective, and the health department and its staff is working hard to locate till the last person who came in contact with the three-member family after reaching home.
Even though the department is doing its best to contain the virus and other states have lauded and decided to emulate the state’s best practices, it cannot be assured that there will not be any deaths in the state due to Covid-19. “We did not have any protocol or guidelines. We have created one on our own with the best use of resources available to us,” the minister said.
The minister said that there are 1,495 persons under surveillance in the state, of which 1,236 are in home quarantine and 259 in hospitals. She said that out of 980 samples that have been tested, 815 have been found to be negative while 14 of those returned from Italy and three from China have been found positive. The minister said that as many as 18 teams have been deployed in Pathanamthitta for identifying persons with symptoms of Covid-19. She said that a 166-member team is dedicated in tracing the contacts of those who have come into touch with the Italy-returned family while 68 health department officials are involved in isolation activities only in Pathanamthitta.
Cial denies claims of family
The three-member Covid-19 virus-affected family in Ranni, who have arrived at Kochi airport from Italy on February 29, had claimed that they were unaware of health counters and have informed immigration department about their travel from Italy. The Cochin International Airport Limited (Cial) officials has denied their claims, saying the family skipped the checking at health counter and hid the fact they were coming from Italy. After checking CCTV footages, the CIAL officials said while all other passengers in the flight reported at the health counters, this particular family did not approach the health officials.
Replying to a submission in this regard by opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, the minister said the passengers who had arrived from Italy had not disclosed their travel to Italy. Instead, they said that they came back from Doha which was then not under screening. The minister said that the containment method followed by the government is effective, and the health department and its staff is working hard to locate till the last person who came in contact with the three-member family after reaching home.
Even though the department is doing its best to contain the virus and other states have lauded and decided to emulate the state’s best practices, it cannot be assured that there will not be any deaths in the state due to Covid-19. “We did not have any protocol or guidelines. We have created one on our own with the best use of resources available to us,” the minister said.
The minister said that there are 1,495 persons under surveillance in the state, of which 1,236 are in home quarantine and 259 in hospitals. She said that out of 980 samples that have been tested, 815 have been found to be negative while 14 of those returned from Italy and three from China have been found positive. The minister said that as many as 18 teams have been deployed in Pathanamthitta for identifying persons with symptoms of Covid-19. She said that a 166-member team is dedicated in tracing the contacts of those who have come into touch with the Italy-returned family while 68 health department officials are involved in isolation activities only in Pathanamthitta.
Cial denies claims of family
The three-member Covid-19 virus-affected family in Ranni, who have arrived at Kochi airport from Italy on February 29, had claimed that they were unaware of health counters and have informed immigration department about their travel from Italy. The Cochin International Airport Limited (Cial) officials has denied their claims, saying the family skipped the checking at health counter and hid the fact they were coming from Italy. After checking CCTV footages, the CIAL officials said while all other passengers in the flight reported at the health counters, this particular family did not approach the health officials.
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