The district reported 330 new cases of COVID-19, one death and 151 recoveries on Sunday.
Among the patients are 306 contact cases, two NRIs, four health workers and 18 others who had travelled from various Indian States.
The Health Department also confirmed that the death of a 50-year-old Koyivila resident is due to COVID-19. She had died on September 16.
The health workers who tested positive include a 32-year-old Orient Nagar resident and an employee of a private clinic in Pallimukku. The others, aged 41, 46 and 47 have been working at government facilities that include Primary Health Centres at Karavaloor and Thazhava and Kollam District Hospital.
The district currently has 24,563 persons under observation and the total number of samples collected is 1,68,515. While 1,532 people completed home quarantine on Sunday, the Health Department has traced 34,922 primary and 6,471 secondary contacts of the positive cases. Currently 17 COVID-19 first-line treatment centres (FLTCs) are functioning in Kollam and the total number of active cases is 2,955.
According to Health officials, many persons who tested positive in recent days have wide contacts. Staff members of government offices, KSEB personnel, salespersons, tailors, MGNREGS workers and autorickshaw drivers are among the recent cases reported from the district. On Saturday over 30 among the total 64 migrant labourers who have been staying in the same building had tested positive. “Though antigen is negative for the rest, all the high-risk primary contacts will have to undergo RT-PCR,” said an official.Spread among the fishers is another major concern with many points in the coastal belt still reporting cases.
“Weddings and related functions continue to cause highest number of contact cases. Though we have restricted the number of attendees, people keep visiting the house for three to four days. We are planning to impose new restrictions to lower the transmission rate,” the official added.
While the district administration is planning to increase the number of beds in Government MCH and Kollam District Hospital, the department has intensified surveillance in both city and rural areas.
