THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala moved eerily close to a community spread following an alarming surge in local transmission cases even as the chief minister said the UDF was instigating people to stage protests and scuttle the government’s Covid fight.On Friday, local transmission cases (204) outnumbered imported ones (174) for the first time as the day’s new cases touched 416 in the highest single-day spike since the outbreak.
The local spread cases included 35 ITBP personnel, two BSF and one CISF personnel.Of the new cases, 129 were from Thiruvananthapuram. Among them, 112 were in the city corporation limits, with 77 cases from Poonthura and 16 from nearby Manikyavilakom.To add to the authorities’ worries, residents of super spread area of Poonthura took to the streets violating triple lockdown and staged a protest demanding the opening of shops selling essential items.
“The rise in local contact cases in proportion to the total number will lead to a dangerous situation. This is very alarming and it won’t take long for community spread to happen if we err in precaution,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said at the media briefing. The surge in local spread is driven by the primary and secondary contacts of NRK patients who returned from other states and countries.
First signs of community spread visible, says CM
He cited the Poonthura cluster in Thiruvananthapuram where the index case was a fish trader of the local Kumarichantha market who had contracted the disease during a purchase trip to Kanyakumari. The CM reiterated that community spread has not happened in the state, but its first signs were visible.“We are seeing super spread in certain clusters which is the first step towards community spread. Other indications are the rise in the number of local spread cases and patients with unknown sources of infection. All should follow the safety guidelines to avoid a community spread,” he said in reply to a question.
The large community clusters identified in the state are at Ponnani in Malappuram and the area comprising three corporation wards including Poonthura in the state capital.An area is viewed as a cluster when more than 50 cases are reported from there. The government is conducting rigorous testing in containment zones to look for the formation of clusters.
House visits are conducted and people with respiratory ailments are subjected to antigen tests. In several Indian cities, Pinarayi said, the situation turned worse after multiple clusters were formed.“Super spread is a similar situation. If not attended, it won’t take much time for the pandemic to spread across a small state like Kerala which has high density of population,” he said.