The Wayanad district administration has stepped up surveillance following the detection of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in neighbouring Kodagu district in Karnataka on Thursday.
The Kodagu district administration invoked Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the district after a confirmed coronavirus case was reported at its headquarters in Madikeri.
A person who arrived in India from Saudi Arabia tested positive for the virus.
Wayanad District Collector Adeela Abdulla told The Hindu that the border check post at Tholpetty on the Kerala Karnataka border would be closed and daily workers who were returning from coffee plantations in Kodagu to the State through the route would be quarantined.
As hundreds of workers from Thirunelly and Tholpetty area in the district have been working in coffee and ginger plantations in Karnataka, the District Medical Officer ordered public microphone announcements to keep the workers alert of the situations.
“We have already constituted special teams to intensify preventive measures against the spread of the disease in the district”, Ms. Abdulla said. The teams were constituted as per the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
As many as nine teams under a five-member district-level team, comprising the District Panchayat President, District Collector, district police chief, District Medical Officer and Deputy Collector (disaster management) would execute the preventive measures effectively.
