Kerala confirms community transmission of COVID-19 in Thiruvananthapuram's Poonthura and Pullivila hamlets

Thiruvananthapuram: With coronavirus cases surging, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said community transmission has occurred in two coastal hamlets of Poonthura and Pulluvila in Thiruvananthapuram, even as 791 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, taking the count to 11,066. An “unprecedented situation” was prevailing in the coastal region of Thiruvananthapuram, with the infection spreading fast, he said and announced that a total lockdown will be enforced in these areas from tomorrow. Of the positive cases, 532 people have been infected through contact and there has been 133 recoveries today,Vijayan told reporters. The number of those presently under treatment is 6,029. Of the infected, 135 people had come from abroad and 98 from other states. “The source of infection of as many as 42 people is not yet known,” Vijayan, said. With regard to Thiruvananthapuram district, which accounted for 246 cases, only two had come from abroad and 237 had contracted the disease through contact. “We will have to impose lockdown in coastal areas from tomorrow,” he said, adding the coastal stretch has been divided into three zones. “In Pulluvila in Karimkulampanchayat of the 97 people tested, 57 were found positive while in Poonthura, 26 have tested positive out of the 50 samples tested in Ayush hospital. In Puthuvila and Poonthura areas, community spread of the infection has taken place,” the chief minister said. The death toll in the state has climbed to 37 with a man hailing from Thrissur succumbing to the virus. A man, who had committed suicide on Tuesday, has tested positive, but his death is not being added to the tally, Vijayan said. The district wise infection tally is Ernakulam 115, Pathanamthitta 87, Alappuzha 57, Kollam 47, Kottayam 39, Kozhikode, Thrissur 32 each, Palakkad 31, Wayanad 28, Malappuram 25, Idukki 11 and Kannur nine. In the last 24 hours, 16,642 samples have been tested. As many as 1.78 lakh people are under observation, while 6124 are in various hospitals, including 1152 admitted today. Totally 2.75 lakh samples have been sent for testing and results of 7610 samples are awaited. There are 285 hotspots in the state as of now.