The district on Friday logged a total of 21 COVID-19 cases, including 12 through contact.
Of this, eleven are immediate family members and relatives of a 65-year-old man from Kayamkulam who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 earlier this week.
This included a 54-year-old man, two young men, two young women, and three boys and a girl, all hailing from Kayamkulam. Two of his relatives, a 46-year-old woman and her daughter from Cheruthana, too tested positive on Friday.
One of the women works at the Public Works Department (Road Wing), Alappuzha.
The sexagenarian tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Sunday while undergoing treatment for other ailments at a hospital in Kollam. The source of his infection remains unknown.
In the subsequent days, his daughter, who was staying with him at the hospital, wife, son, and daughter-in-law contracted the disease. Apart from him, 15 of his family and relations have so far contracted the disease through contact, said a health official.
19 in quarantine
“Immediately after the 65-year-old tested positive, 19 of his close family members and relatives were put in quarantine. Besides, we have identified 74 primary contacts of these people and sent them into quarantine. Results of samples collected from some of them are still awaited. We expect some more members of the family/ relatives to become COVID-19 positive,” the official added.
Other cases
Apart from the 11 cases from Kayamkulam and Cheruthana, a pregnant woman from Arattupuzha tested positive on Friday. She was found to have contracted the disease during a medical check-up. The source of her infection is unknown. Of the rest of the nine cases, five came from abroad and four from other States. All the 21 patients have been admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha.
Meanwhile, two persons undergoing treatment for COVID-19 tested negative for the disease. The number of active cases in the district stands at 202.
