In Kerala district with 5 coronavirus cases, govt calls for marriages, festivals to be postponed

The five positive patients include a couple and their 25-year-old son who returned from Italy last week where 360 people have succumbed to the virus.

By: Express Web Desk

Kochi | Updated: March 9, 2020 09:27 PM IST

3 min read

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A security officer wears a mask outside a special ward set aside for possible COVID-19 patients. (AP)

A day after five of a family reported positive for the COVID-19 virus and allegedly risked the spread of the infection into the community, the Pathanamthitta district administration in Kerala issued a call to the public to consider postponing public functions including marriages and festivals for two weeks until the situation becomes stable. People must abandon travel plans and adhere to the protocol of the health department, District Collector PB Nooh said on his official Facebook page.

The district administration said it will convene a meeting with all religious leaders to talk about postponing any public event they may be planning. Follow Coronavirus outbreak LIVE updates

The state’s health department is engaged in a daunting task of tracing all the primary and secondary contacts of the family of five who tested positive for the virus and putting them under home quarantine. The five positive patients include a couple and their 25-year-old son who returned from Italy last week where 360 people have succumbed to the virus.

Health Minister KK Shailaja announced late Monday that her department had been successful in tracing as many as 270 people who may have come in contact with the infected out of which almost 95 are in the high-risk category. “The contact tracing exercise is still continuing,” she said.

Six different teams, comprising of health workers, were deputed Monday to spread out to all the places where the infected may have travelled and identify primary and secondary contacts. These contacts would be placed under home quarantine and regularly monitored over phone until the 28-day incubation period ends. If they exhibit symptoms, they will be moved to isolation wards at hospitals.

Students appearing for their class 10 and class 12 exams who may have come in contact with the infected should remain at home. They will be given an opportunity to write their exams again. The district administration has also promised strict action against those spreading reports on social media that may traumatise the infected.

At present, there are six patients who have tested positive for the virus in Kerala.

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