The aroma-filled lanes of Mattancherry that call out the rich history of Kerala’s spice route and the sizzling streets of Fort Kochi, where one could spot tourists throughout its length at any time, continues to remain deserted as COVID-19 grips its claws in the region. In the past 16 days alone, West Kochi, including both Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, of Ernakulam district, have reported 338 COVID-19 cases.
For close to the past one month, the Ernakulam district administration has been grappling to contain the spread of pandemic in the region. West Kochi, a large island with the Arabian Sea and Vembanad lake on either side, comprises areas like Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Thoppumpady, Palluruthy, Edakochi Kumabalghi and Chellanam.
Chellanam, the coastal fishing hamlet which earlier witnessed a similar spike in COVID-19 cases through local transmission, have been brought under control, after stringent regulations were imposed.
However, the local transmission of COVID-19 in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry continues to remain ‘serious’, according to officials. On Saturday alone, 32 cases were reported.
Talking to TNM, officials working close on COVID-19 containment in the region, say that the demography of the region is the main factor that led to the spike in local transmission.
“This is a thickly populated region with houses located very close to each other, especially in Mattancherry. The wards where the COVID-19 containment is at its peak, has many houses consisting of large families with many members. So if one person gets infected, the number of their primary contacts is very large, compared to other places,” says a revenue official who did not wish to be named.
Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas also said that the transmission of COVID-19 is faster in the region due to the region’s topography and demographics.
Meanwhile, the strict regulations in place in the area have taken a toll on many locals, who are mostly dependent on daily wages or work in malls and shops in the region which have been shut. Many, who travel from other areas to Kochi city for work are in a tough spot due to traffic regulations near BOT bridge in Thoppumpady, that connects the region to the main city by road.
Fisher folks, comprising another large community in the region, have also been facing a tough time with livelihood coming to a halt due to markets and harbours inside West Kochi being closed.
The district administration has therefore been forced to bring relaxations in the region. Various local body leaders also told TNM about people expressing difficulty in coping with the stringent lockdown in the region.
The relaxations will include turning large containment zones into micro COVID-19 clusters. All wards, from one to 28 under the Kochi Corporation’s limits, have been declared as a large containment zone and lockdown is in place throughout the region. But when lockdown is imposed as micro clusters, wards that have no COVID-19 cases will get more relaxations.
“Our main objective is to ensure that people face as little inconvenience as possible, while also giving significance not to regress COVID-19 containment activities. Another important aspect we focus on is to increase COVID-19 containment infrastructure in the region as much as possible,” Collector S Suhas tells TNM.
Fishing harbours will also be opened up with regulations. Sanitation work is underway. The Chellanam fishing harbour will be the first to be opened, on Monday. The district administration has said that people from other districts will not be allowed to function in the harbours in the region.