THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On a day the state reported the biggest single-day spike of 86 new Covid cases, the swab samples of a priest -- who died on Tuesday morning while under treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital here -- tested positive, taking the coronavirus death toll to 11. The deceased, Fr K G Varghese, 77, a native of Nalanchira, was being treated for severe pneumonia. With the health authorities not being able to fix his source of infection, speculation is rife on the possibility of hospital transmission of virus as he was under treatment at the Peroorkada District Model Hospital and the MCH, Thiruvananthapuram, from April 20.
Of the new cases, 72 are returnees — 46 from abroad and 26 from other states — while 12 contracted the virus through contact. Fr Varghese, a retired government servant, was admitted to the MCH on April 20 following a road accident. Later, he was shifted to the Peroorkada hospital. As his situation worsened due to severe pneumonia, he was again referred to the MCH. “As his condition was serious, his swab samples were collected on Monday.
His death was confirmed on Tuesday morning. The test result came positive on Tuesday evening,” the district administration said in a statement. As the deceased had no travel history and the source of infection remains unknown, the health department has started the process of connecting the dots to resolve the mystery. “Chances of hospital transmission can’t be ruled out. But this is not a community transmission. He might have caught the virus from within the family.
The contact mapping may shed some light on the same,” said an officer with the health department. There are also reports that he was a regular hitchhiker and might have met with the accident during one such motorcycle ride. The department says, with the help of the police, all such angles will be explored. Meanwhile, the test results of 19 patients returned negative on Tuesday. The recovered persons were from Kottayam and Kasaragod (7 each), Thiruvananthapuram (2) and one each from Pathanamthitta, Malappuram and Kannur