Coronavirus scare resurfaces in Kottayam after visit of primary contact of COVID-19 patient

Kottayam (Ker), Apr 22 () A lorry driver, primarycontact of a COVID-19 patient in Palakkad, brought a load ofwatermelons to the market here, triggering a scare in thedistrict which has been declared green zone, prompting healthofficials to trace and shift him to an isolation facility.

The driver, who brought the load from Tamil Nadu, leftfor Palakkad after unloading the watermelons and was traced inErnakulam past midnight on Tuesday, officials said.

He was shifted to an isolation facility at the GeneralHospital in Palakkad, after samples were collected from himfor COVID-19 testing, they said adding 17 others who handledthe watermelons load the market here have been advised homequarantine.

The man had a history of travelling with his co-driverfrom Palakkad who tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday,following which officials started the contact tracing.

Initiating the break the chain initiative, officialsimmediately closed the shop where the watermelons wereunloaded and placed 17 people, including the shop owner andwokers who had unloaded the fruits, under home quarantine.

Incidentally, lockdown restrictions were eased inKottayam district from Tuesday after the state governmentclassified it along with Idukki in the green zone, where nocoronavirus cases had been reported in the past 14 days. COR TGBVS VS