All in panchayat and 2-3 km radius told to self-quarantine

: With the deadly COVID-

19 claiming one more life in Kerala, the state government on Tuesday appealed to all people from Pothencode panchayat, from where the deceased hailed, to go under self quarantine for three weeks immediately.

People of two other panchayats, lying 2-3 km from Pothencode should also quarantine themselves, Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran told reporters.

"The request of the government health department and the district administration is that people living in Pothencode and panchayats within 2-3 km radius should completely go into self quarantine for the next two weeks", Surendran said.

If they develop any symptoms during the period, they should report to the health authorities, who have already made arrangements for their treatment, he said.

 

All people, doctors, nurses and other health workers who came in contact with the deceased man in the panchayat have already gone into self quarantine, he said, adding there was no way other to identify all those who had got infected.

Steps had already been taken to verify the passports of those who had reached the area recently.

There is no concern of community spread as of now, he said.

According to media reports, the deceased man had attended a Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meeting of his grand daughter, a wedding and two funerals.

Meanwhile, DGP Loknath Behera said the crime branch would begin a probe to identify all those who had come in contact with the deceased man.

He also directed all the people of Pothencode panchayat to inform the health authorities or police on their own if they had met the deceased man.