The Health Department has temporarily closed all mega vaccination camps in the district due to the acute shortage of vaccine.
Nearly all of the total 10,000 doses of vaccine that arrived in Kollam on Tuesday were administered by evening while 7,744 persons were vaccinated on Monday.
“Not just Kollam, but all districts are facing the issue. We will be conducting very limited sessions in the next two days and we can resume the camps only after new stock arrives. We are expecting it by Thursday and till then few centres will be functioning,” said an official.
Meanwhile, the district administration has launched a special test drive for those working in harbours, cashew factories, auto-taxi workers, and driving students. The campaign aims to test maximum samples collected from crowded areas and closed spaces so that positive cases can be immediately isolated and treated.
Among 2,263 samples collected on Monday only 25 persons tested positive. The Health officials have urged the public to stay alert as the spread among the youth and middle-aged has been reported as very high. “Most of the patients in ICUs and on ventilator support are below the age of 30. Symptoms should not be neglected,” she said.
The district reported another spike in fresh COVID-19 cases with 848 persons testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Tuesday. While 840 patients contracted the virus through contact, others include one NRI, four persons from another States, and three health workers.
Kollam district currently has 15,050 persons under observation and the total number of samples collected is 10,21,094. While 657 persons completed home quarantine on Tuesday, the Health Department has traced 2,05,896 primary and 16,012 secondary contacts of the cases. The district also reported 67 recoveries on Tuesday.
