The opening of borders for Keralites stranded in other States has resulted in a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, with three more persons testing positive in Kannur and Kasaragod on Monday.
Two persons who arrived from Mumbai and another who came into contact with infected patients were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
They are a 35-year-old man from Chokli who arrived in Kannur on May 9 and a 31-year-old from Payyambalam who reached on May 10 from Mumbai. A 54-year-old woman health worker from Chirakkal too contracted the disease.
With this, the number of COVID-19 patients in Kannur has touched 126. As many as 118 persons were discharged from hospitals.
Meanwhile, 5,554 people are under observation in the district. Among them, 27 are at the Kannur Government Medical College Hospital, 13 at the COVID-19 treatment centre, five at the Thalassery General Hospital, 11 at the Kannur District Hospital, and 5,498 in home quarantine. So far, 4,865 samples have been sent for testing.
In Kasaragod
Two more persons were tested positive for the virus on Monday in Kasaragod. Both of them, aged 28, are residents of Paivalike panchayat and had arrived from Mumbai on May 15. They have been admitted to the COVID-19 hospital at Ukkadukku. As many as 2,456 people are under observation in the district. Of them, 2,101 are in home quarantine and 355 in hospitals.
Kasaragod District Medical Officer A.V. Ramdas said preventive measures needed to be strengthened as more number of people were arriving in the district. He informed that a total of 2,587 people had arrived in the district from other States till Sunday.
“Following lockdown relaxations, crowding was witnessed in towns and shopping centres. This could increase the risk of disease spread. Unnecessary visits to hospitals should also be avoided,” he warned.
The DMO said diligent interventions in the early stages had prevented the spread of community outbreaks in the district.
He added that squads of health workers and volunteers would make house visits to monitor those under observation.