Curbs on travellers, public events

Testing to be increased as district gears up to combat pandemic

The Kozhikode district administration is intensifying steps to contain COVID-19 in the wake of the surge in fresh cases and the high test positivity rate (TPR), the number of people testing positive for the virus per 100 samples, here. Public events and gatherings will be regulated to reduce the spread of infection and more people would be vaccinated. A meeting of elected representatives in panchayats and Health Department officials held here on Thursday decided to increase the number of tests in the coming days. The district would be divided into three regions, depending on the intensity of infection and the number of cases being reported. More sectoral magistrates would be appointed to enforce the pandemic protocol. Over 300 such officials would be panned out across the district. If people are not willing to obey their directions, police would be roped in. The district had been reporting a high TPR in the past few days. On Saturday and Sunday, it went above 9%. The active caseload too is high here with over 5,111 people under treatment.