Sixteen more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Kottayam on Saturday.
Of the fresh cases, two health-care workers and a worker in a fish market contracted the virus through local contact. The health-care workers, who tested positive, were a 51-year-old nursing assistant and a 41-year-old pharmacist at the Family Healthcare Center at Kuruppanthara. They were on the contact list of a nurse in the same hospital who was confirmed with virus infection on Friday.
With three health-care workers testing positive for the disease from the same hospital, the entire staff including doctors at the centre were directed to go into quarantine. “To ensure the functioning of the hospital, we have deputed doctors and staff members from other hospitals in the district,” said Jacob Varghese, District Medical Officer.
Meanwhile, the source of infection of the worker at the fish market in Changanassery remains unknown. Following this, the market was closed down for the time being. Earlier, the authorities had closed down the fish market in Ettumanur after two of its workers tested positive for the disease.
Of the remaining cases, six persons landed from abroad while seven arrived from other States. Meanwhile, the Orthopaedic ward in the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) was closed down after two patients here tested positive for the virus infection. While the existing patients were shifted to other wards, as many as 12 staff members including seven doctors were directed to go into quarantine.
Reports have now surfaced about the nurses on duty at the ward raising protests for not sending them into quarantine. The medical college authorities, however, maintained that the list of persons for quarantine was recommended by a medical board.
As part of a plan by the Centre to augment facilities for treating COVID-19 patients, the MCH has received 40 new ventilators to treat the COVID patients in critical condition. According to the officials, these ventilators will be made operational within a few days. Training for the crew has already begun.