Lakshadweep reports surge in COVID-19 cases after first case on Monday

Lakshadweep, India’s smallest Union Territory, reported its first coronavirus case from Kavaratti Island on Monday. According to the Union Health Ministry, a man who arrived on the island on January 4, travelling via ship from Kochi, had tested positive for the virus on Monday. The man works as a cook in the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) and has been admitted to a hospital in Kavaratti. A report by The Hindu said that this case was reported two weeks after the island administration “revised Standard Operating Procedures by doing away with the mandatory quarantine guidelines for those arriving from Kochi.”

Thirty-one people who had come in direct contact with the man were traced and isolated to decrease the further spread of the virus. Out of them, fourteen of them tested positive, with four experiencing symptoms. This is the highest surge in Lakshadweep since the outbreak of the pandemic, taking the test positivity rate to 42.4%. 

The Union government went into action immediately to arrest the spread of the coronavirus. A multi-disciplinary team of experts from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and the Regional Office of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare were sent to Lakshadweep to take cognisance of the situation and assist the island administration in containment activities. 

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry said that a total of 56 contacts of positive cases detected so far have also been traced and quarantined. The Ministry also added that the Union Territory Administration has “initiated disinfection procedures and intensive risk-communication activity has been operationalised.” 

The Lakshadweep administration prevented movement within the island, including ships, on Tuesday and stated that anyone who visits the island from the mainland must obtain a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test report 48 hours before travel.