Kasaragod district turned COVID-19-free with the lone patient, a 47-year-old man, testing negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on Sunday. The patient, a Chengala resident who had returned from abroad, was undergoing treatment at the Kasaragod Government Medical College Hospital at Ukkinadka. The district had earlier recorded the highest number of COVID-19 patients (178) in the State.
Kasaragod still has 965 people under observation, including 105 in the hospital. The test results of 181 samples are awaited.
Eighty-five persons were admitted to the isolation ward on Sunday.
Most of the positive cases in Kasaragod had foreign connections. The first patient was a medical student from Wuhan, China. Soon, with the arrival of more people from abroad and the spread of the disease through social contact the number of cases increased.
Kasaragod was allocated ₹75 lakh from the State Disaster Response Fund and ₹3.95 crore from the package set aside to counter COVID-19.
In addition, ₹7 crore was allocated for upgrading the Kasaragod Medical College Hospital.
‘Too early to relax’
District Medical Officer A.V. Ramdas said it would be too early to relax.
“Importantly, none of the doctors and paramedical staff contracted the disease. This shows the level of preparedness of the team,” he said.