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The Kerala government has come across the case of two persons who, after arriving from ncoronavirus-hit China, went on to defy the strict State-wide vigil by flying out of Kozhikode to international destinations.
The District Medical Officer (DMO) said efforts were on to trace them.
The Kozhikode Corporation Council in North Kerala has since decided to keep a vigil on those quarantined. A special committee of councillors has been put on the job.
According to the DMO, 60 travellers from China were being monitored within the Kozhikode City Corporation limits. Of these, 58 have been observing the quarantine protocol. In the district, 310 persons are under observation.
Reports from the inter-State border said that the Karnataka Health Department officials are checking passengers entering Kerala from neighbouring states. Isolation wards have been opened in hospitals in the vicinity of the check-post.
Passengers being checked
There is a seven-member team at the Moolahalla checkpost, led by a doctor to check all vehicles, including buses, on the Kozhikode-Mysuru National Highway. Those showing symptoms are being advised to go to the nearest hospital and seek treatment. An isolation ward has already been opened at the government hospital at Gundalpet in Karnataka. No suspect cases have been identified so far, according to the Karnataka officials.
State calamity declared
On Monday night, Kerala, the first State to report incidence of coronavirus (so far, three confirmed cases have been reported), had declared it a State-level calamity with 84 persons in hospitals and 2,155 under home quarantine. The decision was taken at a meeting of the apex committee of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and chaired by Chief Secretary Tom Jose.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong, a Special Administered Region under the People’s Republic of China but outside the mainland, has reported its first death from the virus on Tuesday. Last Saturday, the Philippines had become the first non-China country to report a death.
Kerala’s Health Minister KK Shainaja reiterated that, rather than create panic, the decision to declare coronavirus as a State calamity is only to further tighten the vigil. The State does not want to miss out even on a single case and be faced later with fait accompli , said the Minister, who chaired a meeting of the Rapid Response Team of the Directorate of Health.
Home quarantine
Those who arrived in the State from China and affected areas such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, the UAE, Vietnam, Japan, and Australia must observe home quarantine for at least 28 days. The Minister suspected at least 79 persons to have travelled with the affected. She warned that if they do not voluntarily report to the State’s health department, it would be forced to initiate action against them or explore the option of ‘chasing them down.’
The affected should avoid going to public places and attending functions such as weddings or funerals during this period. In exceptional cases, they can seek the help of health officials or volunteers to move out. The State-wide vigil will continue even as the Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kasaragod districts, from where the three confirmed infections have been reported, would be brought under focus. Call centres working round the clock have been set up in the State and district headquarters to offer help and guidance.
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