Kerala seems to be going into a mass testing mode for COVID 19 as more positive cases continue to surface, posing new challenges and putting the health system under strain.
The very factors that spurred Kerala’s development -- a huge population of non-resident Keralites spread across nations, its attraction as a major tourist destination -- are now turning out to be huge challenges when it comes to tackling the new pandemic.
Three persons in the capital district, all of them came from abroad, were confirmed as COVID-19 positive on Friday, taking the total number of patients in the second wave of coronavirus disease to 19, spread across six districts. One of the cases is that of a person from Vellanad who come from the UAE after visiting several nations, including Italy. He had been advised home quarantine on arrival at the Thiruvananthapuran international airport but was later brought in for testing. COVID-19 was also confirmed in an Italian tourist who had already been in quarantine at the resort where he had booked in at Varkala. His respiratory samples had been collected and sent for testing on Wednesday. The third case was that of a person who had returned from the U.K. and who had been sent to isolation upon arrival at the airport here. All three are admitted to the special isolation ward at the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital. As on Friday, 5,468 persons are under surveillance, of whom 277 are in isolation in hospitals.
Vigil on tourist centres
Briefing media, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the State would have to keep a vigil on all tourist centres, including homestays and resorts, and that all persons who had arrived from nations where COVID-19 was active would have to undergo testing. The State would have to arrange for testing facilities in trains which come across the border and at the multiple entry points to the State with the help of police.
He said Malayali students who were planning to return from Kalburgi in Karnataka, where a COVID-19 death had been reported, would also have to undergo the Health Department’s testing and isolation. State’s containment activities are going on full steam, but individuals would have to understand the high transmissible nature of the disease and be prepared to impose certain self-restrictions and practise social distancing.
Discussions had been held with airport authorities on strengthening surveillance and in ensuring that none of the travellers escape the universal screening. Forced isolation may be necessary for people returning from some nations where active COVID-19 transmission is on, he said.
He added that considering the shortage of sanitisers in the market, the Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals would manufacture and supply one lakh litres of the product.
