Capital grapples with spike in local transmission cases
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With 44 such cases identified on Tuesday alone, the district has requested the government to halt the issue of short and regular visit passes for those coming from other states. As many as 3,513 people visited T’Puram in the last one month
Local transmission cases are spiralling in capital city with the source of many infections remaining unknown. Despite the district being on the verge of community transmission, authorities continue to issue passes for short and regular visits for people coming to the capital from other states and red zones. While over 80 local transmission cases were reported in Thiruvananthapuram the last seven days, 44 such cases were identified on Tuesday alone raising concern.
Ever since the relaxation of lockdown restrictions came into effect, the district administration has issued around 1,517 short visit passes and 1,996 regular visit passes for people from the other states. As per the current guidelines, a person visiting the state for a short visit should disclose his or her itinerary along with the purpose of the visit. Unnecessary contact should be avoided by such visitors and any deviation from the plan should be informed to the authorities with valid reason. However, there is no mechanism in place to keep a tab on such short visit travellers coming to the state capital.
With the situation going out of control, the district administration has taken up the issue with the state government. “We have requested the state government to seal the borders for now and stop issuing passes for brief visits. We have no mechanism to keep track of these visitors. We are inviting new cases by allowing their entry. The entire machinery is busy containing the spread of the pandemic so we shouldn’t complicate the situation further by allowing visitors. Many of the unlinked Covid positive patients may have contracted the virus from people coming from other states. It would be impossible to trace the contacts of such cases as the source might have left already,” said an official of the district administration.
According to officials, tracking those coming entering the state by road and by air is physically impossible. Dr Sreejith N Kumar of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said that enforcement and adherence of guidelines is the only way to tackle community spread. He said that sealing borders alone wouldn’t solve the issue.
“The pandemic is here to stay for a while but we have to move on with our day to day life. Hence, lockdown is not a recommended measure for disease containment for a prolonged period. People may have to move from state to state for various purposes. This is crucial for the socio-economic situation. The current containment strategy is very effective. A total shutdown is not at all a feasible option,” said Dr Sreejith. He added that decentralised or local shutdowns are viable options.
total Number of short visit passes
Approved: 1,517
Rejected: 1,624
People who have crossed the checkpost: 405
total Number of Regular visit passes
Approved: 1,996
Rejected: 2,333
People who have crossed the checkpost: 200