IDUKKI: A tribal village in Kerala, which remained untouched by the novel coronavirus till Monday, reported its first cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, Health department officials said.
A 26-year old man and 40-year old woman, hailing from Edamalakudy, the first tribal panchayat of the state, have been admitted to hospitals in Munnar and Kottayam after being diagnosed with the virus, they said.
However, officials said the source of their infection is not believed to be Edamalakkudy as they had gone out of the village for various purposes.
The man, who had left the village on June 29, had been serving as a bystander of a patient in various hospitals.
The source of his infection is certainly not his village.
The woman had also gone out seeking treatment for some ailments.
She was referred to the Medical College hospital, Kottayam after she complained of allergies to some medicines.
The source of her infection is not believed to be the hamlet, they said.
Idukki DMO Dr N Priya said, a COVID vaccination camp will be organised in Edamalakudy near Munnar next week.
During the camp, antigen tests will also be conducted to find out if more people are infected with the virus, she told P T I.
Long before the government clamped lockdown officially, the tribals were confined to their fringe hamlets isolating themselves to ensure that no one among them got infected.
They come out of the shelter of forests only rarely to collect essential articles, baby food and medicines.
They were also not hesitant to request the outsiders including police and health workers to ensure that they are not carriers of the virus while visiting them.