The district’s COVID-19 caseload continued to reach uncharted levels as 4,560 more people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Saturday.
The high caseload pushed the test positivity rate to 31.68%. With 2,403 people recovering from the illness, the count of active cases stood at 36,480. A total of 14,391 were subjected to tests during the last 24 hours.
As many as 88,730 people are currently in quarantine in the district. These included 6,781 people who were ordered to self-isolate on the day. A total of 4,999 others were permitted to conclude quarantine.
As many as 14,172 were inoculated on Saturday. These included 13,398 people who were administered Covishield. Among the beneficiaries, 11,167 people received their second doses. The vaccination drive will remain suspended on Sunday.
District Collector Navjot Khosa said nine executive magistrates were appointed to monitor the availability of oxygen among oxygen cylinder agencies in the district. They have been tasked with maintaining the count and distribution of oxygen cylinders, preventing their hoarding and attempts to sell at excess rates. Nedumangad sub-collector Chetan Kumar Meena will coordinate such efforts, the Collector said.
Kollam
The district reported 2,838 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 1,412 recoveries on Saturday.
The new patients include 2,827 contact cases, six health workers, two NRIs, and three others who had travelled from different States. The number of persons who tested positive in Kollam Corporation is 701. The district currently has 35,777 people under observation and the total number of samples collected is 11,61,732.
While 2,245 people completed home quarantine on Saturday, the Health Department has traced 2,17,231 primary and 16,356 secondary contacts of the patients. Kollam currently has two COVID secondary-level treatment centres (SLTCs) and eight COVID first-level treatment centres (FLTCs) functioning in the district.
Alappuzha
The district logged 2,433 COVID-19 cases on Saturday.
Of the fresh cases, 2,423 patients contracted the disease through local transmission, while the source of infection of six other persons remains unidentified. Four persons who came from other States also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The test positivity rate for the day stood at 25.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, 772 people who were undergoing treatment for the disease in the district tested negative. The active COVID-19 caseload in the district stands at 25,909.
All local bodies in the district have arranged ambulance services to transport COVID-19 patients to hospitals and other treatment centres. The move followed criticism after a COVID-19 patient lodged in a domiciliary care centre at Punnapra was taken to hospital on a motorcycle after his condition worsened on Friday.
Kottayam
The number of fresh COVID-19 cases witnessed a sharp surge on Saturday with 2,395 people testing positive for the virus. The Test Positivity Rate (TPR) for the day was 25%.
Of the fresh cases, 2,382 people including a health worker contracted the virus through local transmission. The new cases also included 228 children and 409 people aged above 60.
Among the local bodies, Kottayam municipality bled the tally with 249 cases, followed by Ettumanur with 101 cases.
With 1,404 recoveries during the day, the district currently has 16,041 active cases.
According to officials, as many as 100 beds and 20 oxygenated beds will be added to the second-line treatment centre in Pala, which currently has the capacity to accommodate 105 patients.
The number of beds in the Government Medical College (GMC) too will be raised.
Pathanamthitta
In Pathanamthitta, 1,180 people tested positive for the disease during the day. Of this, 1,165 persons contracted the virus through local transmission. With 100 cases, Thiruvalla reported the highest number of cases, followed by Aranmula with 47 cases.
The district also reported 11 COVID-19 deaths.
With 933 recoveries, Pathanamthitta currently has 12,829 active cases while 29,104 others are under surveillance.
The TPR for Pathanamthitta over the past one week stood at 22.6%.
