The Beypore fishing harbour in Kerala’s Kozhikode town was shut on Thursday after two workers associated with the harbour were found to have COVID-19. The harbour has been temporarily shut for three days starting from Thursday. Officials of Kozhikode Corporation confirmed to TNM that a fisherman and a fishing boat driver tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
A total of 120 people who have come into direct contact with the patients have been asked to go into quarantine. According to officials, this includes 30 workers who were associated with the boat on which the two people worked.
Officials also stated that news that Beypore Port has been shut down was incorrect and it was only the harbour that has been closed.
Fow the last few weeks, Kerala has been witnessing local transmission of coronavirus associated with fishing hamlets in the state. This means that many who come in contact with someone already affected by the virus, have gotten infected.
The state government last week said that community transmission occurred in the coastal hamlets of Poonthura and Pulluvila in Thiruvananthapuram. In Ernakulam district also, local transmission was widely reported from the coastal hamlet of Chellanam. In Malappuram’s Ponnani too, the COVID-19 situation was severe after hundreds of cases were reported through local transmission.
Areas under 16 coastal local bodies are presently under triple lockdown to curb local transmission.
Coastal areas in eight local bodies in Alappuzha, four in Malappuram, two in Kollam district and one each in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam are under triple lockdown. This also includes Poonthura, Ponnani and Chellanam.
Meanwhile, the highest number of containment zones -- local-body wise -- is in Kozhikode district with areas of 20 local self-government departments marked likewise.
The state also witnessed for the first time, a single day spike of over 1,000 cases on Wednesday. The state is also expecting a further hike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the coming days. Over 86,000 primary contacts and 37,000 secondary contacts of COVID-19 patients are under observation in the state at present.
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