Covid test positivity rate (TPR) in Kerala dipped 16.71 per cent in tandem with daily new cases (19,686) on Monday even as recoveries soared to 28,561.

On the other hand, the number of people with Nipah fever symptoms in Kozhikode, rose to 251 and the size of the high-risk contact group swelled to 54.

As many as 1,17,823 samples were tested for Covid diagnosis, unusually high for a Monday, said the Health Department. The TPR and daily new cases have been on the mend over the last few days, offering some relief in the midst of a Nipah scare. However, Covid deaths at 132 took the cumulative toll to 21,631 so far.

The day also saw a million doses of Covid vaccine arrive in the State.

Viral double-whammy

Concurrent prevalence of Covid-19 and Nipah viruses have started to tell on human resources available to deal with each, said sources. At least 16 separate groups are now involved in Nipah tracing, and has translated to a huge drawdown from the healthcare resource pool managing Covid in Kozhikode.

The district administration and local health officials said that 11 people undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital have presented only mild symptoms for Nipah fever.

Test results of eight are expected from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

Coordinated efforts are on by the Animal Husbandry and Forest Departments to identify the source of the virus from around the home of the lone Nipah virus victim in interior Kozhikode. Samples were taken from a goat reared at the house of the 12-year-old boy who died of the virus on Sunday.

Samples collected

Officials ventured into a neighbourhood infested with fruit bats, which many presume as the carrier of the virus.

They also collected samples from rambutan fruits from the same area and also bat droppings. These will be sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal.

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