Daily Covid-19 count crosses 1,000 for first time in Ernakulam

KOCHI: The district crossed the 1,000-mark in daily Covid cases for the first time on Wednesday. Of the 1,056 new Covid cases, 896 contracted the infection through local transmission.The number of active cases in the district crossed 7,000 even as six more healthcare workers tested positive for the virus. Among those tested positive on the day, 140 persons contracted the disease through unknown sources. Eight persons arrived from other states. Active cases in the district rose to 7,876.

In the wake of the surge in cases, eight new Covid First-Line Treatment Centres will begin functioning at Palluruthy, Vyttila, Mattanchery, Vaduthala, Edakochi, Kaloor, Kathrikadavu and Edappally, said District Collector S Suhas. Telemedicine facility will be made available for home treatment, with a total of 4,084 people under treatment for Covid at their homes. West Kochi remains a concern for the health department with over 3,000 Covid cases reported from the region so far. Meanwhile, 263 Covid patients recovered from the illness.  

Flying squads to strengthen Covid restrictions      
A District Disaster Management Authority meeting chaired by Collector Suhas has decided to form Flying Squads at the taluk and local self-government levels to strengthen the enforcement of Covid restrictions. The squads will be formed under the leadership of the respective tahsildars and village officers/LSG secretaries. At the taluk level, the squad will comprise the tahsildar, deputy tahsildar, junior superintendent, a clerk and a police officer. The secretary, village officer, panchayat/village-level officers and a police officer will form the squad at the LSG level. Taluk Incident Commanders will evaluate the functioning of the teams on a daily basis and submit a weekly report to the collector.

Dist administration to form special squads 
District Collector S Suhas has decided to form special panchayat and taluk-level squads to tighten the containment measures in the district. In a meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority on Wednesday, the collector directed Taluk Incident Commanders to evaluate the activities of the squads on a daily basis and submit activity reports every week. The deputy collectors, in charge of the taluks, will coordinate the activities of the teams. As part tightening vigil, the district will only allow 50 people for weddings and 20 for funerals.