Nine healthcare workers among 44 cases in Ernakulam district

KOCHI: Out of the 44 new Covid cases reported in Ernakulam district on Saturday, nine were healthcare workers from private hospitals. With this, the total number of healthcare workers infected in the district so far has risen to 16, raising concerns.According to the health officials, all healthcare workers except one case — a 51-year-old who works at Government dispensary in Tripunithura — all sources of infection have been identified. “They all belonged to the contact list of those tested positive earlier and all were under quarantine. Meanwhile, the contact details of the 51-year-old are being prepared and tracked,” said a health official.

According to sources, nursing staff and doctors are also among the healthcare workers who tested positive. Among those tested positive includes three healthcare workers, from a private hospital in Aluva and five from a private hospital in Ernakulam. From the clusters in the district, 12 persons tested positive in Chellanam and one among them is an ASHA worker, while 16 persons tested positive from Aluva.

Out of the 44, six persons came from foreign countries and other affected states. Remaining 38 cases reported in the district are local transmission cases and according to the health officials, most of their source of infection is identified. However, nine persons recovered from Covid-19 and they have been discharged from hospital. With this, a total of 676 people are undergoing treatment for Covid-19 in the district. As part of the cluster containment testing strategy, 760 samples were tested from Chellanam, and 885 samples from the Aluva market, Kadungalloor, Karumalloor regions. From Keezhmadu, 160 samples and 312 samples from the Ernakulam market have been tested so far.

“The testing strategy of the district has improved and with more local transmission cases, the number of tests conducted have also increased with whatever facility we currently have. However, we are primarily focusing on the First Line Treatment Centres (FLTCs) and one with a capacity of 50 beds has been started in Chellanam already. More centres are being set up to cater to the rising number of clusters in the district,” said a health official.