Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala reported 794 new COVID-19 cases and 245 recoveries on Monday, taking the number of cases reported in the state till date to 13,274.
With this, the number of active cases in the state has gone up to 7,611, Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja said in a statement. So far, 5,616 people recovered from the disease.
Local transmission of COVID-19 continues unabated as 519 people of the newly reported 794 cases contracted the virus through contact. Of the contact based cases, 24 people's source of infection is unknown, the health minister said.
While 148 people came from abroad, 105 came from other states.
Apart from this, 15 healthcare workers (four from Thiruvananthapuram, three each from Alappuzha and Ernakulam, two each from Kollam and Malappuram and one from Kozhikode), two BSF jawans (one each from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam) and four KSC employees also tested positive.
More deaths in Kerala
The minister also confirmed one more death in the state, taking the official number of COVID-19 fatalities to 43. The deceased has been identified as 73 year-old Sister Claire, a native of Ernakulam. She died on July 16.
Meanwhile, another person, who was admitted to the Medical College Hospital in Idukki after being tested COVID positive, died on Monday. Thankaraj, 50, from Chakkumkulam Chittambara in Idukki district, was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. He was a heart patient.
He had arrived in Kerala, with his wife and daughter-in-law from Gudalur in Tamil Nadu. The daughter-in-law has also tested positive for COVID-19. However, this has not been added to the state's official list of COVID deaths.
District-wise breakup of today's positive cases:
Thiruvananthapuram – 182 (contact cases - 170)
Kozhikode – 92 (contact cases - 44)
Kollam – 79 (contact cases - 71)
Ernakulam – 72 (contact cases - 59)
Alappuzha – 53 (contact cases - 24)
Malappuram – 50 (contact cases - 13)
Palakkad – 49 (contact cases - 29)
Kannur – 48 (contact cases - 15)
Kottayam – 46 (contact cases - 38)
Thrissur – 42 (contact cases - 22)
Kasaragod – 28 (contact cases - 11)
Wayanad – 26 (contact cases - 7)
Idukki – 24 (contact cases - 14)
Pathanamthitta – 3 (contact cases - 2)
District-wise breakup of today's recoveries:
Palakkad – 93
Thrissur – 45
Malappuram – 35 (one from Palakkad, two from Kozhikode)
Kottayam – 19 (one each Pathanamthitta and Idukki)
Pathanamthitta – 16
Kasaragod – 10
Alappuzha – 9
Ernakulam – 8 (one Alappuzha native)
Kozhikode – 4 (one from Pathanamthitta)
Kannur – 4 (one Kozhikode native)
Thiruvananthapuram – 2 (one from Kollam)
Of the 1,65,233 people under observation for suspected infection, 1,57,523 are home/institutional quarantined and 7,710 hospitalised. As many as 871 people were hospitalised on Monday.
In last 24 hours, 14,640 samples were tested. In total, 5,46,000 samples (including routine, airport survillence, pooled sentinel, CBNAAT, TrueNAT, CLIA and antigen assay) were sent for testing. Of this, results of 5,969 samples are yet to be returned.
20 new places were designated as hotspots on Monday, while one was excluded from the list. The state presently has 337 hotspots.
High-alert in Kottayam district
As 38 of the 46 new COVID-19 cases are contact based, the authorities have stepped up the surveillance in Kottayam district, especially in Changanassery and Ettumanoor market areas. Fish markets at both places have also been shut.
Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, a traders' body in Kerala, have decided to close all shops in Ettumanoor from Tuesday midnight till July 26.
Meanwhile, the district administration continued to conduct antigen tests among the traders and those who visited the Changanassery market.
Earlier, two traders at the market had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Shops in Changanassery town have been working from 10am till 6pm. This will continue for now.
Meanwhile, the district administration have declared four new places as containment zones. They are Changanassery municipal wards 31 and 33, Kanjirappally panchyat ward 18 and Kottayam municipality ward 46. Manarcad panchayat (ward 8) have been excluded from the list. There are 19 containment zones in the Kottayam district.
More first-line treatment centres in Kerala
Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja, in an interview given to a national news agency, said that the state will soon be able to treat around 50,000 COVID-19 patients at a time by doubling its first-line treatment centres (FLTC) to 56.
The minister said experts have forecast a surge in the number of cases next month but sounded confident that the government can manage any such situation with the measures being taken by it.
"We already have two COVID hospitals in each district. Then as the number increased, we opened one FLTC for each COVID hospital. Thus, we already have 28 FLTCs. Now, we have given direction to increase the number to 56. That is one COVID hospital will have two FLTCs," Shailaja said.
She also said the government had already given directions to open in each of the 941 panchayats at least one FLTC where a special medical team would take care of asymptomatic and less complicated patients.
Some FLTCs have up to 500 beds and at least 2,000 people can be accommodated in each of the 14 districts in the state.
Explaining the functioning of the FLTCs, Shailaja said the idea was to decongest medical college hospitals where seriously ill patients would be treated.
"It can be schools, hostels or any other large building. The government has already released funds for purchase of necessary furniture and equipment at these centres. All districts have been given Rs 10 crore each. The panchayats have been given Rs 50,000 as an advance fund to set up the FLTCs," the minister said.
Kerala's second plasma bank set up in Wayanad
Meanwhile, the state's second plasma bank has been set up at the Wayanad District Hospital in Mananthavady, close on the heels of a similar facility being launched at Manjeri in Malappuram.
The District Medical Officer Dr R Renuka, who inaugurated the plasma bank on Sunday, said the convalescent plasma therapy has been found effective for treating the critical COVID-19 patients.
Health authorities said the donors of plasma should have tested negative for the virus twice and the donation should be within 14-120 days of the final test result.
The donor should be between 14-50 years of age, and be healthy with a minimum weight of 55 kgs.
Seven people who had recovered from the infection had turned up at the hospital to donate their plasma.