With more and more throat swab and blood samples collected from quarantined people testing negative, Ranni, the epicentre of the second spell of COVID-19 outbreak in the State, is limping back to normalcy.
It was on March 8 that news came out about three from Aythala in Ranni, who returned from Italy, and two of their neighbours testing positive for COVID-19.
The three who returned from Italy reportedly slipped the surveillance at the Kochi airport to reach their home at Aythala on February 29. They, along with two of their kin at Aythala, were admitted to the isolation ward of Pathanamthitta General Hospital with symptoms of COVID-19 on March 6. All the five tested positive for the virus infection on March 8.
The Health Department swung into action and identified a large number of
people in and around Ranni who came into contact with the affected people. All of them were quarantined, either at hospitals or at their homes, for 14 to 28 days as part of the intensive disease-prevention drive.
The entire Ranni town, a vibrant market for hill produce in the district, came to a standstill with shops and other business establishments in the town downing shutters and vehicles keeping off the road.
Even the State Bank of India branch at Thottamon in Ranni where they visited twice was closed down.
Now, after more than 10 days since their hospitalisation, their condition has been stable and they are fast recovering from disease. Moreover, clinical test results of the throat swab and blood samples collected from primary and secondary contacts of these people have been negative, infusing confidence among the villagers, who were facing some sort of alienation from the rest of the State.
Vehicles too started plying in Ranni town since Saturday. Though there is a visible slump in business, shops and markets too were found open on Monday.
Autorickshaw stands too turned active in the town and on the Aythala Road.
“The situation was not like this a week ago when people outside Ranni
were reluctant to board buses coming from Ranni. But that situation has changed for the better,” says Anilkumar, a building contractor from Kattoor, near Ranni.
