Kerala to go in for 'cluster care' method to contain Covid spread

Thiruvananthapuram: As the number of COVID-19 cases in Kerala are on the rise, the state government has decided to implementa "cluster care" method to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, state health minister K K Shailaja said on Saturday.

The minister said testing, treatment and quarantining will be strengthened inside the "clusters" in order to stop the spread of the virus beyond a particular area.

"Thosein the clusters must strictlyfollow the health protocol including wearing of masks, social distancing, handwash, use of sanitisers etc.

We must keep in mind that the clusters are formed just before the community transmission," Shailaja said in a release.

A cluster is formed when there is an "unexpected surge in COVID-19 cases" at a particular area or a region.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Friday said that community spread had occurred in Poonthura and Pulluvila in Thiruvananthapuram and its nearby places have seen a rapid increase in the number of contact cases.

The health minister said that there are 87 clusters in the state of which 70 are active clusters and 17 contained clusters.

"Two of such clusters havereported community transmission and the people there need to cooperate with the health department to bringthose regions from the cluster classification," she said.

Contact tracing of the cluster is started based on the fact that there is at least one case where the source is unknown and more than two unrelated cases in an area.

"It can be a market, hospital, coastal area, an institution, a ward, panchayat or a

tribal area.