Giving a major relief to health authorities, the throat swab samples collected from two persons who died while in home quarantine have been tested negative for COVID-19. They both were secondary contacts of COVID-19 patients.
While the first sample belonged to a person from Chengalam who died two days ago, the other sample belonged to a relative of the COVID-19 patient at Ranni in Pathanamthitta. Post-mortem examinations were held on the bodies at the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital here.
Meanwhile, the authorities here on Sunday sent five more samples for tests. With the Health Department recommending home quarantine to 72 more persons, the total number of persons in isolation rose to 1,179.
In isolation ward
Further, a man who had returned from Dubai recently, was admitted to the special isolation ward at the GMC.
The officials also identified one primary contact and a secondary contact of one of the COVID-19 patients here. So far, the authorities have identified 128 primary contacts and 458 secondary contacts in the district.
As many as 28 teams, each comprising a junior health inspector, junior health nurse and police officer, have been deployed at the bus and railway stations to screen the passengers.
The District Collector has directed all hotels and resorts to keep their foreign guests in isolation for two weeks. The foreigners have been also banned from using public transportation systems during the period.
