The district reported five new COVID-19 cases on Saturday. These included a person who contracted the virus through contact and four imported cases.
The person who got the disease through contact is the mother of a youth from Chengannur who came from Chennai on May 13 and tested positive for COVID-19 on May 21. It is the first case of local transmission of the disease in the district.
Officials said of the four imported cases, two had come from Gulf countries and another two from Mumbai. “One of them, a youth from Chengannur taluk reached the district from Abu Dhabi in the UAE on May 17. The second person, a youth from Mavelikara taluk, came from Dammam on May 19. After reaching the district, they were both observing the mandatory institutional quarantine period at a COVID-19 care centre,” said an official.
Of the two Mumbai returnees, one is from Kuttanad taluk and another from Chengannur taluk. “The Kuttanad native, a woman, reached the district by train on May 19. The youth hailing from Chengannur who came on board a train had been in quarantine at a COVID-19 care centre after reaching the district on May 19. All five patients have been shifted to Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Alappuzha,” the official added.
The district has so far reported 18 COVID-19 cases, of which 13 remain active. Among them, 12 are undergoing treatment at the MCH, Alappuzha, and one at Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri. Nine people were hospitalised with symptoms on Saturday, taking the number of people in isolation at hospitals in the district to 25. A total of 4,127 people are in quarantine/isolation in the district.
