A high alert was sounded on Sunday in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala from where the state's fresh cases of coronavirus were reported and officials intensified measures to track those with whom three infected people came into contact while arriving here from Italy.
The move came after five people -- a couple and their son with recent travel history to Italy and two of their relatives -- tested positive for coronavirus. The trio had evaded screening at the airport on return about a week ago.
In the southern Pathanamthitta district, all public programmes and religious gatherings have been called off, official sources said.
The district administration has formed eight teams of medical officials to identify the people with whom the virus- infected persons had come in contact during their stay in Ranni and surrounding areas between February 29 and March 6.
District collector P B Nooh said the teams with seven members each would prepare a list of their primary, secondary and tertiary contacts, he said.
"The people who were found sick as per the list will be put under hospital isolation. Others will be home-quarantined, Nooh told reporters in Pathanamthitta.
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Upon their arrival from Italy, the infected persons had reportedly been with some mass gatherings in the district.
Shocked over the official report that the three infected people who had landed at the international airport here on February 29 had evaded health screening, Ernakulam district administration on Sunday took stock of the arrangements at the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).
A statement from the CIAL said as the universal screening (for all in-bound international passengers) was started on March 3, earlier there were inflight announcements and intimation at immigration counters for the passengers who were coming from non-pandemic countries like Italy.
"However, the (three) Italy-returnees failed to report their travel details before the officials at the airport." There were 182 passengers on the Doha-Kochi flight, it said.
They were admitted to a hospital on March 6 and their tests were confirmed on Saturday night, Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja said in Thiruvananthapuram.
After chairing a meeting of officials of various departments at the airport, Ernakulam district collector S Suhas appealed to all the co-passengers of the three and people present at the airport area when the flight carrying them landed here to report to the health officials immediately.
An urgent meeting was held at the airport to review the latest covid-19 cases. The meeting was chaired by District Collector S Suhas, the CIAL statement said.
As the three passengers, who were later confirmed for the infection, travelled through CIAL, the meeting decided to start hectic tracing operation for all passengers on the (Doha-Kochi) flight and their secondary contacts and the employees who attended to them on February 29, it said.
Also, a massive disinfestation drive would be initiated from CIAL's side, it said.
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