Strengthen contact tracing in Kerala, says Central team

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The two-member Central team deputed to monitor the Covid situation in the state suggested measures to strengthen contact tracing and quarantine. The observations were made at a time when the laxity in contact tracing and testing were blamed for the plateauing of number of positive cases in the state. The team held talks with the officers of the health department and Thiruvananthapuram collector Navjot Khosa on Monday.  

The central team consisted of deputy director of the regional centre of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Thiruvananthapuram, Dr Ruchi Jain, and professor of  Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Dr Saka Vinod Kumar. They visited the general hospital which is a Covid hospital, and a couple of containment zones in Thiruvananthapuram.

“The team reviewed the lockdown measures, Covid control measures taken up at various local bodies, public places, railway station, containment zones, awareness programmes and treatment facilities during the meeting. They are satisfied with the containment measures in general, and spoke about exercising caution in easing restrictions during festive season to prevent further spread,” said an officer. The team will visit Kollam and Pathanamthitta in the coming days.The Union Health Ministry sent teams to six states, including Kerala, to monitor the overall implementation of Covid management protocols, including testing, surveillance and containment operations. 

744 NEW COVID CASES IN CAPITAL; TPR FALLS TO 7.7%
T’Puram: The district on Monday reported 744 new Covid-19 positive cases, continuing the decline witnessed in the last few days.  The test positivity rate is 7.7 per cent which is also lower than the state average of 10.03 per cent. A total of 19 deaths have also been reported in the last 24 hours. Besides, 1,209 patients recovered from the infection on the day. There are a total of 8,342 active patients as of Monday. Among the total positive cases, 648 people have been infected through the local transmission.Of them, three are health workers. A total of 35,222 people are under surveillance. 

Vaccination drive for migrant workers begins 
T’Puram: The Covid vaccination for guest workers has started in the district. The drive is being jointly carried out by the health and labour departments under the leadership of the district administration. The district has a total of 11,158 guest workers. Under the Kadakampally family health centre, two camps were set up at Anayara Valiya Udeshwaram School for guest workers. As many as 619 people received the first dose. According to district collector Navjyot Khosa, more vaccination sessions will be organised across the district.