Tests on high-risk contacts intensified

Thiruvananthapuram: The latest patient, who was tested positive for Covid-19 in the district on Thursday, continues to be asymptomatic, puzzling the health authorities. The 80-year-old patient, who is the mother of patient ‘R 15’ who returned from Dubai, is expected to have contracted the disease during her son’s home quarantine period between March 21 and 31.With the reporting of asymptomatic case, the district administration is strengthening its surveillance measures among high-risk contacts of Covid-19 positive persons in the district.
Intensive surveillance has begun on all cases of patients who returned from Dubai and their high-risk contacts, irrespective of whether they are symptomatic or not. This will include their family members and co-travellers in the flight. Sentinel surveillance, which involves collection of data from a limited network of carefully selected reporting sites, will begin within two days after the district administration completes collection of all data in connection with Dubai returnees.
As part of intensifying the surveillance, the district administration and health department will segregate areas where Dubai-returned positive patients are residing as containment zone and buffer zone. The 3km area around the initial cluster of cases will be the buffer zone, where the health department will carry out intense testing of all high-risk contacts.
Though the mother of patient R 15 was tested positive, the other close family members, including his wife and children, who were shifted to the IMG Hostel, have tested negative for Covid-19. Incidentally, the infection to the primary contact could have been avoided if the R 15’s test was done when he developed mild cough and rhinitis on March 28. Though he contacted ‘Disha and reached General Hospital in an ambulance the same day, he was sent back on home quarantine as his symptoms were mild. His swab sample was taken on March 31 as symptoms persisted and was tested positive on April 2.
Interestingly, this is not the first asymptomatic case handled by the district health officials. The Italian tourists, who were staying at Varkala, had developed mild symptoms only on the 17th day, said health officials.
Though district administration received alerts from Malappuram and Kollam about persons who attended Tablighi Jamaat meeting, it had already identified and tested 11 persons, whose results were negative.
Meanwhile, no positive case was reported in the district on Friday. Results of around 136 samples tested were negative. Of the five active cases, three, including the 80-year-old woman, are under treatment at Medical College. Two children are under treatment at SAT. Around 73 new suspected cases were quarantined on Friday while 775 persons completed their 28-day quarantine period. On Friday, 27 persons were admitted to hospitals with various symptoms.