After three people who had a number of interactions with the public were confirmed to have COVID-19 in Thiruvananthapuram, strict restrictions are being put in place in the Kerala capital.
The new patients include a migrant labourer who was employed in one of the shops at the busy Saphalyam complex in Palayam, a lottery agent in Vanchiyoor and a fish-seller in Poonthura. In addition to this, among the new cases reported from Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, one is of a policeman who had been posted on duty outside the Secretariat.
“All of them have a number of interactions with the public every day. It shows that restrictions in Thiruvananthapuram district should be stricter. People should go out only for emergencies. More restrictions will be brought to the Secretariat. Visits to government offices including the Secretariat would be restricted,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in his press conference on Friday.
However, he allayed fears of community spread of the disease in the state. More numbers of the new cases are of people contracting the disease through contact with those who came into the state infected from other states or countries, the Chief Minister said. Cases where the source of infection is unknown are still less in number, he said.
Five places in Thiruvananthapuram have been declared containment zones by district collector Navjot Khosa. These include the Vazhuthur ward in Neyyattinkara, Thalayil in Balaramapuram, and three wards within the city corporation including Poonthura, Athani Lane in Vanchiyoor, Palayam market area and Saphalyam complex and Paris Lane residential area in Palayam ward.
“With an employee in Saphalyam complex testing positive for coronavirus, it has been decided to close down the Palayam market, in addition to the Saphalyam complex, for seven days,” informed Thiruvananthapuram Mayor K Sreekumar. Apart from this, busy shops and hotels in Palayam have also been instructed to shut shop for a few days, the Mayor said.Later, corporation authorities released a note, announcing that shops within city limits should close by 7 pm until further notice.