Fresh COVID-19 cases saw a surge in Kozhikode on Wednesday when 468 people were declared tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the district. The number of total active cases from the district is now 3,096.
Two deaths were reported at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, on Tuesday and Wednesday. While a 60-year-old woman from Nallalam in Kozhikode died on Wednesday, a 42-year-old man from Puthuppanam near Vadakara in the district died on Tuesday, said a medical bulletin.
According to the District Medical Officer, 417 of the new cases were through local transmission of the infection. The source was unknown in 37 cases. The others had returned either from abroad or from other States. The number of cases through local transmission in Kozhikode Corporation is 161. As many as 155 people recovered from the infection too.
Meanwhile, local bodies in the district have been asked to purchase pulse oximeters to help senior citizens determine the oxygen levels in their blood. This was decided at a meeting convened by District Collector S. Sambasiva Rao on Wednesday. Each ward will have at least one pulse oximeter and ward-level rapid response team members would visit senior citizens to inspect their condition.
Home isolation
Mr. Rao said that steps had been taken for home isolation treatment for infected persons if there is a peak in their numbers. However, people would be given a choice and those aged above 50 and suffering from other diseases would be compulsorily shifted to first-line treatment centres or COVID hospitals. The principle applies to symptomatic patients as well. Pulse oximeter should be provided to those aged between 40 and 50 and in home isolation. Mr. Rao claimed that the daily tests in Kozhikode district had crossed the 5,000-mark.