With the number of new COVID-19 cases in Kollam touching 831 on Saturday, the district administration has imposed a string of extra restrictions.
The current test positivity rate (TPR) in the district is 22.4 and the Health department has revised guidelines to curb the spread. COVID-19 related information will be made available by the District Medical Officer (DMO) to all departments engaged in containment measures including Police, Local Self-Government and Revenue.
All ceremonies and public events must be registered on COVID-19 Jagratha portal and Police chiefs and local body secretaries have been instructed to ensure this.
While the DMO will be in charge of imposing restriction in COVID-19 clusters, work from home option will be provided for all pregnant women working in government offices. If clusters form in educational institutions, the authorities should close them for 15 days.
Meetings, events and ceremonies should be conducted online in all government, quasi-government, co-operative, public sector and self-governing institutions. Since the average test positivity is more than 20, only 50 persons can attend social, political, religious and community events, festivals, weddings and funerals.
Public events will not be allowed if the test positivity rate exceeds 30. Seating in bars, clubs, hotels, restaurants, and theatres should be limited to 50 percent to ensure adequate ventilation.
All shops have been asked to promote online booking and sales while crowds are not allowed in the malls. While the Health Department has arranged provisions for isolation and emergency facilities, directions have been issued not to delay emergency surgeries, including childbirth.
Test is not mandatory if there are no symptoms and patients should not be screened more than once a week. Asymptomatic persons, those who do not belong to the high-risk contact list, inter-State travellers, those in home quarantine and those who have recovered from COVID-19 are not required to take the test.
Meanwhile, testing is mandatory for persons who develop cough, fever, sore throat, loss of taste/smell and shortness of breath along with contact cases with diabetes, hypertension, liver and kidney issues and those travelling to/from other countries.
Alappuzha
The district logged 765 COVID-19 cases on Saturday. The test positivity rate (TPR) for the day was recorded at 22.69%.
Of the fresh cases, 754 people contracted the disease through local transmission, while the source of infection of seven others remains unidentified. Four persons who came from abroad also tested positive for the disease.
Meanwhile, 208 people who were undergoing treatment for the disease in the district, tested negative. The active COVID-19 caseload stands at 3,260.
After a period of relative lull, the district started witnessing a rise in cases two weeks ago.