While Aluva recovers, west Kochi, other clusters remain a concern

133 new cases. Local spread high in Fort Kochi, Chellanam, Edathala & Nellikuzhi clusters
File photo of a private bus plying in Kochi city with less than 10 passengers | A Sanesh
File photo of a private bus plying in Kochi city with less than 10 passengers | A Sanesh

KOCHI: It was a good news-bad news situation for the district which reported 133 more Covid cases on Tuesday. While the number of cases in the Aluva cluster, which was under triple lockdown in July, witnessed a decline, the situation in the West Kochi region, Edathala, Chellanam and Nellikuzhi clusters continued to remain a cause for concern owing to the rise in local transmission cases. 

“Cases from Aluva have come down drastically. However, the Fort Kochi, Chellanam, Edathala and Nellikuzhi clusters remain a major concern. Curbs are still in place in wards 7 and 8 of Chellanam panchayat and in the Edathala area. Since the population density is high in the Fort Kochi area, cases of local transmission are also seeing a rise,” District Collector S Suhas told reporters at the Civil Station here on Tuesday. 

He said steps have been taken to control the spread of the virus by introducing aggressive testing of symptomatic cases and patients’ contacts in containment zones. “Aggressive testing in Aluva and Keezhmad in the first and second weeks of July helped us reduce the number of cases. Based on this, we have increased the testing in containment zone areas. At least two weeks is the time needed to control the spread in a cluster,” Suhas said.In terms of total number of Covid cases, Ernakulam is currently in the third place in the state with 2,955 cases as of Tuesday. Of these, 75 per cent are cases of local transmission. The district has 1,195 active cases.

Cluster  containment strategy
District Collector S Suhas explained the Cluster containment plan of the district. “There are four main units operating under the control room, including the DMO call centre, the  surveillance unit and the FLTC coordination. The units will handle information about public concerns, telemedicine services and the ‘Breaking Bad News’ team that shares information about persons diagnosed with Covid and informs the shifting team,” he said.

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