Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala had its second death in the Pot encode area of Kochi on Tuesday, creating total scare as the man is not known to have any history of foreign travel or direct contact with those coming from infested countries.
The dead man, Abdul Asees, had meet many people and had attended several functions, including weddings, funerals, events at banks before being admitted to hospital in a critical condition. Since he was unconscious for most of the time in the hospital, the authorities had a tough time drawing up a list of his possible contacts.
Finally, they managed to create one with the help of relatives and others familiar with him. It has raised concerns about the possibility of community infection, prompting the authorities to declare quarantine for all people within a radius of two kms.
The entire area has been closed for two weeks. The health authorities are organising rapid tests randomly to check the virus attack, but logistics problems in the availability of kits have delayed the operation.
Meanwhile, the inclusion of Pathanamthitta in the list of sensitive areas announced by the Centre, along with Delhi’s Nizamuddin, has further heightened the alert against the possibility of community-level spread of the infection.
