Covid positive cases cross 700-mark again in Capital, 5 deaths

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a brief respite, the number of patients newly tested positive for Covid in the district went above 700 on Thursday. As many as 756 people tested positive on the day. However, the test positivity rate remains low compared to the earlier numbers that hovered around 14 per cent. 

Among the total, 586 cases are infections through local transmission and 14 of them are health workers. As many as 622 recoveries were also reported continuing the increasing trend in the rate of daily recoveries.

There were 8,342 active cases in the district as on Thursday. Nine deaths were reported on the day. Padmanabha Iyer, 81, from Karamana, Gopinathan, 65, from Pulimath, K G Kamalamma, 84, from Anayara, Kochupennu, 84, from Pothencode, Raju, 68, from Kulathoor, Sudha, 65, from Mariyapuram, Krishnan Nair, 83, from Amaravila, Ramesh, 70, from Pettah and Abubaker, 75, from Pravachambalam are the deceased.

As many 1,797 people were newly under observation in the district on the day while a total of 25,223 people are now under Covid observation with 207 of them in quarantine centres.

Meanwhile, action was taken against 322 people in the district for violating Covid protocol by the sectoral officers deployed across the district. While eight cases were charged, 36 people were fined. 237 people were let off with a warning.

Post-Covid OP

The registration for patients who want to attend Post-Covid OPs in the district has begun through E-Health platform. While the Post-Covid Referral Clinic at General Hospital was prepared and equipped to handle patients even on Thursday, the services will only begin officially after the inauguration on Friday. The OP was earlier touted to be completely functional by Wednesday. 

The Post-Covid Referral Clinic in General Hospital will have OP days for various specialisations. On Monday, cardiology and SWAAS OPs will be functional while on Tuesday, it will be general medicine and neurology. On Wednesday, it will be physical medicine and on Thursdays, respiratory medicine. On Fridays, general medicine and psychiatry OPs will be functional. The OP time is from 9 am to 1 pm on the specified days.An official with the General Hospital said that necessary facilities have been set up. 

“Now that necessary announcements have been made, we expect an inflow of patients. In General Hospital Post-Covid OP, we will only take referral patients, referred from wherever they were treated first,” said the official.