THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To curb the spread of Covid in the state, the health department has decided to strengthen contact tracing and quarantining in six districts with high test positivity rate (TPR). Health Minister Veena George convened a meeting on Tuesday with the district medical officers of Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod to discuss the measures to be taken to reduce the TPR. The meeting assumes significance after a central team dispatched by the Union health ministry, to monitor the Covid situation in the state, is presently visiting various districts.
The two-member central team also suggested measures to strengthen contact tracing and quarantining on the first day of their visit on Monday. The minister directed the officers to increase testing in locations with chances of high spread. These tests will be over and above the targets fixed for each district.
The government has decided to shift Covid positive persons without adequate facilities for home quarantine to domiciliary care centres. Those with comorbidities will be shifted to Covid hospitals.
The minister also directed officials to strengthen functioning of the Covid first-line treatment centres. Public health experts have warned against the low testing and poor contact tracing for high plateauing of TPR. “Increasing the number of tests, contact tracing and isolation are the most important steps to control the pandemic. Contact tracing is almost nil. The high number of new positive cases and TPR is the result of compromising on these parameters. It is not the government alone that is responsible for the situation.
The lowering of guard by the public has also contributed to it,” said Indian Medical Association state secretary Dr Gopikumar P. “The high spread in northern districts is caused by small gatherings despite the lockdown. There is a need to enforce the Covid-appropriate behaviour strictly among the public,” he said. The health experts such as Dr Padmanabha Shenoy and Dr Arun N M also highlighted the need for more testing and contact tracing to prevent further surge in cases. The state reported 14,373 new positive cases, the highest since June 10, on Tuesday. The TPR stood at 10.9%.