KOCHI: Local transmission cases continued to keep the administration on tenterhooks as 75 of 79 new Covid cases reported in the district on Saturday were attributed to local contact. Four persons had arrived from foreign countries and other states. According to health department officials, seven persons contracted the infection from unknown sources. Raising concerns further, 17 inmates of the Karunalayam care home and convent at Thrikkakkara tested positive. According to a health official, a full-time medical team has been appointed at the special hospital set up there.
“The patients here are bedridden and require palliative care. It is a high-risk area as most of them are over 60 years of age. Facilities including oxygen cylinders are now available here,” the official said. Providing some relief, no positive case was reported from the Chellanam cluster. But the situation in Keezhmad and Aluva clusters remain grim, with 28 fresh cases. Among those tested positive on the day are a 25-year-old healthcare worker. A Thiruvananthapuram native, she works at a private hospital in Ernakulam.
As many as 76 persons recovered from the illness and were discharged from hospitals. They include 50 Ernakulam natives, nine persons from other districts and 17 persons from other states. A total of 911 patients continue to be under treatment for Covid-19 in the district.
Aluva native dies of Covid
Chellappan, 72, a native of Aluva, died on Saturday. He was brought to the Rajagiri Hospital on Friday after having collapsed in his house. The Covid tests conducted at the hospital showed he was positive. Meanwhile, the test results of his son and wife were negative. According to the hospital authorities, he did not have major health issues and was asymptomatic. He had visited a private lab at South Vazhakulam.
However, Chellappan’s death was not included in the five deaths mentioned in the Covid bulletin released by the health department on Saturday. At the same time, the department confirmed the Covid death of 76-year-old Annie Antony, who passed away on Friday. She was an inmate of the Karunalayam care home and convent at Thrikkakkara.
Mobile medical team to start services next week
Kochi : An emergency mobile medical team will start functioning in the district from next week to increase the effectiveness of Covid-19 testing and treatment. Doctors and nurses will be present in the unit which will provide immediate treatment and help in collection of swab samples.
The decision to form the emergency mobile medical team was taken during a district-level Covid-19 review meeting, chaired by District Collector S Suhas. In addition, a new real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machine has been installed at the public health laboratory in Ernakulam. The test run of the machine will take place by next week. The machine can test around 200 samples per day. This will help in accelerating the rate of tests within the district, said officials.