KOZHIKODE: Violating quarantine, a few local residents organised booze parties that triggered 49 Covid-19 positive cases within two days at Chorode in Vadakara and the number is increasing. On Monday, 44 people tested positive in the antigen assay test and the rest on Tuesday, turning the entire panchayat into a containment zone. Varayante Valappil at Kuriyadi beach is the epicentre of the virus spread, with most of the cases being reported in wards 17 and 18, both now in critical containment zone.
On July 19, there was a booze party on the outside lawn of a toddy shop in which a youth who was into his 12th day of quarantine took part. Adjacent to this, another team boozed with an IMFL bottle gifted by an Army man. “Six persons in the first party are among those who tested positive. They had indulged in other liquor parties and visited houses violating Covid guidelines. The youth was the primary contact of a positive case,” says Chorode panchayat Health Inspector Sathirekha. “This is not accidental but something they have asked for,” said P Shaimraj, councillor of ward 17.
According to him, people are reluctant to spill the truth about their contacts as it involves a series of booze parties. “The Army man says he had tested negative in Rajasthan. However, he had used the public toilet in New Delhi airport and tested positive after reaching here,” added the ward councillor. According to ward 18 councillor Mohammed Iqbal V C, houses are too close on the beach side which caused the rapid virus spread. “The infected include women, children and senior citizens,” he said.
21 among rescuers at Kozhikode airport test Covid positive
Malappuram: As many as 21 persons in Kondotty and nearby areas who were part of the rescue operations following the plane crash at the Kozhikode airport tested positive for Covid-19 in the last two days, health department sources said here on Tuesday. They had been under quarantine at various centres since August 7, the day of the accident. They are now under treatment in various hospitals in the district, including the Medical College Hospital, Manjeri. The health department has so far tested samples of 988 people in the area, including those who actively participated in the rescue operations and others who were present at the accident spot. However, only one-third of the test results has come.
“We are yet to receive the test results of many who participated in the rescue operations. They are likely to come in the next two days,” said an official with the department. According to the official, the number of positive cases among the local rescuers will increase once the remaining test results come. Meanwhile, Kondotty MLA T V Ibrahim began distributing food kits to the families of the rescuers who went into quarantine since the accident. The number of family members will be considered while selecting the size of the food kits,” Ibrahim, who is also under self-isolation for visiting airport and crash site.