MALAPPURAM: A sense of fear has gripped Malappuram after five healthcare workers, including two doctors, tested positive on Sunday. A physician and two nursing assistants at the Sukapuram Hospital and a pediatrician and a staff nurse at the Edappal Hospitals, both in the Vattamkulam panchayat near Edappal, have contracted the virus. Their swab samples were tested on June 19 as part of the sentinel surveillance. They have treated several people and preparing their list of primary contacts could be a tough task for health officials.
“The physician has treated several aged people in the area. Also, the pediatrician is a known name in Edappal and he too must have attended to many children,” said a local resident.The hospitals temporarily closed down the respective sections and they would be reopened only after disinfecting the area. Five people from Vattamkulam panchayat had contracted the virus through local contact on Saturday.
Fearing the possibility of community transmission, the district administration has decided to impose stringent lockdown regulations in four panchayats and a majority of wards in the Ponnani municipality.
Edappal, Vattamkulam, Alamcode and Maranchery panchayats and all wards except 1, 2, 3, 50 and 51 of the Ponnani municipality have been designated as containment zones.
“We’ve decided to impose strict restrictions in these containment zones. The district is going through a very tough phase and imposing restrictions on people’s movements in the containment zones is the only way to contain the spread now,” said Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan.
“People’s movement will be allowed only between 7 am and 1 pm. They should use this time for purchasing grocery items and availing of essential services. People coming from Palakkad and Kozhikode through the highway should exit the containment zones 30 minutes after entering it. They shouldn’t go into the interior places,” Gopalakrishnan added. Meanwhile, the Health Department will do RT-PCR tests on 1,000 people to check for a community spread in the new containment zones.
“It will take three days to collect the samples and another three days to get the results. Only then will we get a clear picture of whether community transmission has occurred in the district or not,” the collector said. The recent developments indicate that the people in Vattamkulam and Edappal panchayats are at high risk. Earlier, a person who used to wander in and around Edappal and a driver with the Edappal panchayat office who came in contact with him tested positive.
The Health Department is yet to identify the former.“The latest developments point to the possibility of community transmission, but it should be confirmed scientifically by the health department,” said a doctor.