Poonthura in Thiruvananthapuram will have stricter controls in place, in light of the increased number of COVID-19 cases and primary contacts in the area. The capital city has been under triple lockdown since Monday following a rise in cases.
A person who tested positive for coronavirus in Poothura has 120 primary contacts.
Of the 54 people who tested positive in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, 26 are from Poonthura. This includes seven people who sold fish taking it to the Kumarichanda fish market or other markets in the city. Six of these are women aged 39, 51, 46, 34 and 35. From the 35-year-old woman, three children aged 12, 14 and 2 have got the disease. There are six other children who contracted the disease through contact, including a one-year-old baby.
Two auto rickshaw drivers from Poonthura, aged 41 and 43 respectively, have also tested positive.
In the last few days, 119 of the 600 samples tested from the region have come back positive. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has ordered for urgent interventions at a meeting attended by Chief Secretary, Health Secretary, District Collector and Thiruvananthapuram police.
There will be major restrictions to those entering Poonthura, and the coastal police have been instructed to stop people coming to Poonthura through the sea. More testing is also slated to take place.
Free ration of five kilos each would be given to every family in three wards of Poonthura.
In Thiruvananthapuram’s Vallakadavu, eight cases of COVID-19 have been reported on Monday. Two of them — a 70-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman – had contact with a retired VSSC official who had earlier tested positive. Others include an 82-year-old woman and her 35-year-old grandson without travel history, a 46-year-old auto driver, a 37-year-old Horticorp worker and two other senior citizens without travel history.
Monday saw the state report the highest number of new cases so far — 272 fresh cases, out of which 195 people had come to Kerala from elsewhere.