Kerala government rolls out ‘coastal plan’ for cluster containment in Capital

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid the worsening Covid-19 situation in coastal areas here, the health department has come out with a ‘Covid-19 Coastal Plan - Management of Covid19 in Coastal Zones of Trivandrum’. According to the department, the plan is aimed at cluster containment and intended to break the cycle of transmission and decrease the morbidity and mortality due to Covid. The plan which centres on the setting up of a three-member rapid response team (RRT) in each ward also lists out the activities to be undertaken in the containment zones. 

“According to the available data till July 16, there are 22 active clusters in the district . Of these, 14 are large community clusters, four limited community clusters and four institutional clusters, including the VSSC, KIMS Hospital, Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram and Saraswathy Hospital, Parassala,” says an excerpt of the document. At the same time, it has been mentioned that one RRT will be formed in each ward. The RRT team comprises an anganwadi teacher, a Kudumbashree member and a volunteer under the supervision of junior health inspector/junior public health nurse. 

“The RRT will conduct daily active house-to-house surveillance  in the containment zone from 8am to 2pm. The RRT, while preparing a list of the family members and those having symptoms, will also track all influenza-like illness/ severe acute respiratory infection reported in the last 14 days by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme in the containment zone,” says the document.

The document which takes stock of the medical facilities in the coastal zones also stresses the need for undertaking psycho-social support, providing speciality care by doctors from Regional Cancer Centre, Malabar Cancer Centre, Sree Chitra Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology and the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. 

“Coastal zones have already been divided into three - Zone 1 ( Anchuthengu to Veli), Zone 2 ( Veli to Vizhinjam) and Zone 3 (Vizhinjam to Poovar ). The health institutions in these zones are four, three and five, respectively. Under these three zones, there are 30,005 children under the age of five and 83, 603 people  above 60,” according to the document. 

Besides, it underscores the need for a Taluk-level  quick response force comprising a psychiatrist, psychiatry master’s degree holder and psychiatric social worker/ clinical psychologist to address issues like stress and anxiety-related to fear of illness, loneliness in isolation room, uncertainty and wait for the blood results, sleep impairment and stigma among others.

Licences of two establishments cancelled
T’Puram:  The licences of Ramachandran textiles-cum-hypermarket at Attakulangara and Pothys showroom at MG Road have been cancelled till further notice by the Thiruvananthapuram city corporation. The action comes in the wake of repeated Covid protocol violations by the shops and with the staff there testing positive. “We had given them several warnings after the establishments were found to be flouting norms. A fine will be decided after their reopening. They also have police cases against them. We had once shut down Pothys hypermarket when they violated norms during lockdown. They had apologised and after keeping the shop shut for a day we gave them nod to reopen. But violation of regulations happened again,” said Mayor K Sreekumar.