The number of new COVID-19 cases crossed 100 on the third consecutive day in Kollam with 156 more persons testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Friday.
While Thursday reported the highest single-day spike at 176, the number of cases was 133 on Wednesday. While 152 patients contracted the virus through contact, two persons are from abroad, and two others had travelled from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. While the district has 1,246 active cases, a total of 93 persons recovered from COVID-19 on Friday.
Kollam currently has 15,209 persons under observation and the number of samples collected is 44,864. While 882 persons completed home quarantine on Friday, the Health Department has traced 15,575 primary and 4,850 secondary contacts of the cases.
District administration has formed a special squad headed by Revenue officials to strengthen surveillance and conduct inspections during the festival days. COVID-19-related restrictions will be in place at all tourism destinations including Thenmala eco tourism centre and weddings will be held under the close monitoring of police. Since several persons from Azheekkal tested positive, monitoring will be intensified in the area.
The Azheekkal harbour was closed on August 23 after the Health Department traced more than 150 contacts of positive cases from there. The District Medical Officer has recommended to reopen the harbour from Friday midnight and an incident commander will be in charge of enforcing COVID-19 guidelines.
