Thevara identified as hotspot

KOCHI: The district administration on Tuesday declared Thevara, the 60th division of Kochi Corporation, as a Covid-19 hotspot. The area was demarcated as containment zone due to the presence of residents identified as contacts of a 49-year-old Air India Express employee who tested positive on Monday. “Only essential services will be allowed in the area. No relaxation would be given to any establishment within the containment zone.

Vehicular movement and the transportation of residents will be regulated with limited entry and exit points as per lockdown guidelines,” said Fort Kochi sub-collector Snehil Kumar Singh who is the incident commander of Covid-19 operations in the district. The Health Department has taken the swab samples of suspected contacts for tests.

“The division has the primary and secondary contacts of the woman who has been working in the Gulf sector for the airline. Special focus will be given to the Perumanoor-Thevara area of the division. Swab samples of those who came in contact with the patients have been collected. Further steps will be taken based on the results,” said DMO N K Kuttappan.

3 MORE EKM NATIVES TEST POSITIVE

Kochi: Three more people from the district tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. Two of them, a 56-year-old man from Keezhmadu and 35-year-old Chengamanadu native, arrived on the Abu Dhabi-Kochi flight on May 17. Both of them were admitted to Covid care centre on their arrival and were later shifted to home quarantine. Since many passengers of the same flight tested positive, the duo’s swab samples were also collected.

They were admitted to Government Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery, after testing positive. The third patient, a 34-year-old Alangad native, arrived on the Salalah-Kannur flight on May 28. As he had Covid symptoms on arrival, he was admitted to Kannur Medical College Hospital, Anjarakkandy. Currently, there are 34 active cases in the district and 88 under observation.