THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Given the rising number of Covid-19 cases with unknown sources of infection, the state health department has decided to launch an epidemiological investigation into the phenomenon after grouping them separately.
The department will examine how such people contract the virus and from where. Most cases within that group is assessed to have been reported from Kollam, Kottayam and Kozhikode.
The state expert committee on Covid-19 had earlier said that the rise in cases with unknown sources of infection may be an indication of community transmission.
"The department will examine such cases separately. The Chief Minister had given an instruction in this regard at the high-level assessment meeting on June 8.
The reasons for healthcare workers increasingly contracting the infection will also be examined," said a health department officer.
While 13 healthcare workers have been infected this month, 16 contracted the virus in May. "The CM is concerned over the development," the officer said.
"It may be because of breaches in protection or due to flaws in infection control measures. An expert team will be constituted to understand it better. The team will visit every health institution where such instances were reported."
Earlier, Health Principal Secretary Rajan Khobragade told TNIE that the department will conduct an audit to find the reasons behind healthcare workers getting infected. According to him, though the health staff, in general, are following an established protocol, some instances of breaches in protection may have
happened.
In a compliant to the CM, the Kerala Government Medical Officers' Association had raised doubts on the quality of the safety gear -- including PPE kits and N95 masks -- being provided to healthcare workers.