A Central team of health experts has expressed concern about the high test positivity rate (TPR) for COVID-19 in Kozhikode district. They asked the district administration on Sunday to ensure strict enforcement of social restrictions and ramping up of tests.
For the past couple of weeks, a majority of local bodies in the district are reporting a TPR between 10% and 15% and above. The team also examined the treatment facilities at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. P. Raveendran, former Deputy Director General, DM Cell, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and K. Reghu, Additional Director, National Centre for Disease Control regional office, Kozhikode, were part of the team. They took stock of the spread of infection, containment measures, treatment facilities, and the progress of the vaccination drive.
District Collector N. Tej Lohit Reddy and Health Department officials spoke about the need for more vaccine stock to speed up the inoculation drive. District officials said that they had already increased the number of tests. The Central team also directed the district administration to set up more first-line treatment centres in the district.
Vehicle blocked
Meanwhile, a group of Congress workers blocked the vehicle of the officials near Chaliyam to protest against the alleged discrimination in the allocation of vaccine. They alleged that the vaccine was being allocated only to workers of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The officials are reported to have noted their complaints. Later, local village officials informed the police, who persuaded the protesters to disperse.
The district added 2,434 fresh COVID-19 cases to its active case pool on Sunday, which reached 24,612. Of the new cases, 2,400 are due to local transmission of infection, and the source of 29 others is not known. Kozhikode Corporation reported 364 locally acquired infections, Koyilandy 90, Koduvally 80, Unnikulam 70, Mukkom 58, Thalakkulathur 55, Karassery 53, Kuruvattur 51, and Kakkodi 50. As many as 16,170 samples were tested, and the daily TPR is 15.31%.