The district’s active COVID-19 caseload crossed 2,000 as 182 people were newly diagnosed with the disease on Monday. The rate of local transmission continued to rise unabated as 170 people, i.e., 93.4% of the total cases, got the infection through contact.
Among those who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were four health workers, a 38-year-old Border Security Force (BSF) jawan and five police officers.
Notably, the coastal areas of the district, which formed the critical containment zone, accounted only for less than half of the cases.
Nearly 80 cases were reported from the region in places including Poonthura (26), Pulluvila (16), Chowara near Adimalatura (9), Beemapally, Karumkulam and Vizhinjam.
Many other cases were reported in Ulloor, Puthenpalam, Vanchiyoor, Pettah, Thampanoor, Prasanth Nagar near Fort, Vellayani, Poojappura, Thiruvallam, Nemom, Mudavanmugal and Kudappanakunnu.
The prevalence of cases without any known sources of infection remained a cause of worry for the district authorities. Nine such cases were reported on the day. These included a 57-year-old man, who was found wandering in the city and whose native place is yet to be ascertained. Other cases include those in Palkulangara, Pettah, Pangode, Varkala, Manikyavilakam, Pulluvila, Nagaroor and Manchamcode. The newly-reported seven imported cases include those detected among people who came from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The number of people being treated in various hospitals in the district has gone up to 2,062. Besides Tamil Nadu natives, the patients included natives of other districts including Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Wayanad. Two people, including a Kollam native, recovered from the illness on the day.
Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner Balram Kumar Upadhyay on Monday toured the district’s coastal belt to take stock of the triple lockdown restrictions that were in place in the region.
Designated
In view of the worsening pandemic situation in the coastal area, the government recently designated the senior officer as the special officer tasked with coordinating security arrangements in the zone that comprised areas that came within the jurisdiction of both Thiruvananthapuram City and Rural police districts. He commenced his tour from Anchuthengu and visited various places including Kadakkavoor, Anchuthengu, Kadinamkulam, Thumba, Vizhinjam and Poovar. Besides interacting with various cross-sections of the public, he visited police stations and addressed police personnel. While the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) suspended operations in its Venjaramoodu depot as the area was declared a containment zone, buses will not operate from the Attingal and Kaniyapuram depots on Tuesday when the premises will be disinfected.
Bus depot
The move comes in the wake of a conductor attached to the Attingal depot testing positive for the infection. He is known to have visited the Kaniyapuram depot as part of his official responsibilities. Many other employees who are known to have come in close proximity with the patient have been ordered to go into quarantine until July 25.