The district reported a second COVID-19 case on Tuesday with a close relative of the first patient testing positive.
Currently admitted to the isolation ward at Government Medical College, Parippally, the patient belonged to the high-risk category for having direct contact with the first infected. After a Prakkulam resident tested positive on Friday, the Health Department had collected the samples of all primary contacts and quarantined the rest.
Since the person had visited a couple of hospitals including the Thrikkaruva PHC, all procedures according to the WHO protocol were carried out.
Two hospitals were closed after shifting the patients and all persons including medical staff were placed in quarantine.
Meanwhile, the district administration, local bodies and the Health Department have identified 110 reserve corona care centres for emergencies.
As many as 3,336 single occupancy rooms will be available with food, medical aid, and other facilities, says District Collector B. Abdul Nasar.
In order to ensure safe disposal of biomedical waste generated in isolation wards, hospitals and quarantine centres, the guidelines issued by Central Pollution Control Board will be followed. Bins, bags and containers with colour codes will be placed in wards and a special team of sanitation workers will be collecting waste. Two-layer bags will be used to avoid leakage and containers and trolleys will be disinfected everyday. COVID-19 sample collection centres and labs have been instructed to handle biomedical waste as per the regulations of Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Home quarantine
Kollam currently has 17,023 persons in home quarantine and 34 among them are foreign nationals. It also includes 6,398 persons who have recently returned from UAE including 1,954 persons from Dubai.
On Tuesday, 246 persons entered home quarantine and the number of persons in medical isolation at present is 19. Among the 759 samples sent from the district to the virology institute, 686 turned negative and the results of 73 are awaited.
