Kerala’s coronavirus disease (Covid-19) death toll went up to seven after a 62-year-old woman died at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on Monday night, health officials said.
They said the woman, a resident of Kannur, was a paralytic and was suffering from many other ailments. Her husband, who works in a market in Thalassery, has also tested positive. The source of infection is not yet traced.
Many such cases have been detected in north Kerala in the last few days.
A woman, who was injured after a jackfruit hit her on her head, tested positive in Kannur two days ago. Nobody had tested positive in her neighbourhood or house before her. Similarly, a man with a spinal injury later tested positive.
Kerala had a good track record with effective tracking and surveillance measures but after expatriates and people stranded in other states started flocking to the state in large the number of Covid-19 cases shot up.
At least one lakh people have returned to the state in the last two weeks. Officials say at least 80% of the recent cases are imported.
There are around 1.80 million Kerala residents working in Middle-Eastern countries alone. At least 50 flights are expected from the Gulf this week as part of the Vande Bharat evacuation plan.
Kerala was first in the country to report a Covid-19 case in January after a medical student returned from China’s Wuhan. But it managed well in containing the virus in the first two stages with its effective intervention and surveillance.
{{/usCountry}}Kerala was first in the country to report a Covid-19 case in January after a medical student returned from China’s Wuhan. But it managed well in containing the virus in the first two stages with its effective intervention and surveillance.
{{/usCountry}}Another worry for the state is that at least nine health workers have been infected in the last three days.
Out of the 896 Covid-19 cases reported in the state, 359 are active and around one lakh people are under observation.