THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a brief lull, the number of fresh Covid cases on a single day in Thiruvananthapuram went above 800 with 848 fresh cases on Saturday.
Among the total cases, 569 were infections through local transmission while 259 were instances of no known source of infection.
The number of cases with no known source of infection is increasing causing concern for the health department.
The sectoral officers deployed in the district to avoid crowds and for strict implementation of Covid protocol took action against 1,475 individuals and 21 shops which were temporarily shut down this week.
The district administration is hoping to continue the trend of decreasing cases with stricter implementation of Covid protocol through these officials who have magisterial powers.
District Collector Navjot Khosa said a case has been registered against a person for violating Section 144.
“We will implement stricter measures if need be. I urge the public to cooperate with these officials in implementing Covid protocol,” said the collector.
On Saturday, five deaths were also reported.
The deceased are Rajagopal, 47, from Karamana, Bhavani, 70, from Tholicode, Dattu, 42, from Edappazhinji, Ajithkumar, 59, from Karumam, Vijitha, 26, from Manjamoodu, Usha, 63, from Varkala and Satheesh Kumar, 39, from Moongodu.As many as 860 recoveries were reported on the day. The district now has 10,893 active cases.
Among those who tested positive on the day, 154 were over 60 while 97 were below 15. As many as 1,546 people were newly under observation in the district on the day.
23 held for violating prohibitory orders
A total of 23 people were arrested and 20 cases were registered on Saturday for violating prohibitory orders, which were imposed to curb the Covid-19 spread in the state.
Among the arrested, 11 are from Thrissur Rural, five each from Palakkad and Alappuzha, and two from Malappuram.
The highest number of cases were registered in Alappuzha (seven) followed by Ernakulam Rural (four), Thrissur Rural, Palakkad, Malappuram (two each) and Kollam city, Kottayam and Thrissur city (one each). Meanwhile, 609 people were arrested for violating Covid-19 protocol in the state on Saturday.
A total of 1,699 cases were registered and 31 vehicles were seized. Police also identified 7,059 people who were not wearing facemasks.
Kollam Rural reported the most number of violations in the state.
A total of 552 cases were registered in the rural limits.A total of 252 cases were registered in city limits.
A total of 238 cases were reported in Thiruvananthapuram Rural limit while the city reported 316 cases. Kannur, Wayanad, Ernakulam city and Kozhikode city recorded less than 10.