Spikes hurt: Jackfruit and coronavirus hit man in Kerala's Kasaragod

In an unusual incident on Sunday (May 24), a jackfruit became the reason for an auto-rickshaw driver being admitted to the hospital and eventually testing positive for coronavirus.

In Kasaragod district in Kerala, a man was admitted to the hospital with spinal injuries after a jackfruit fell on his, however, he later tested positive for COVID-19.

Officials said that it is not yet clear as to how the driver contracted the infection.

“The man is a resident of Belur in Kasaragod. While he was trying to pluck a jackfruit off a tree, one of them fell on him, injuring his spine. His hands and legs were weakened too. His condition required surgery. Our protocol dictates that we subject everyone who require immediate surgery to the Covid test, just to be sure. That’s when he tested positive,” Dr K. Sudeep, superintendent of the Pariyaram Medical College in Kannur, told Indian Express.

“He had symptoms of Covid. But he has no recent travel history or contact with any infected person. We’re not sure if he got it through one of his passengers in the rickshaw. He had visited the district hospital once so he could have got it from there. Anyway, we are examining it and preparing the route maps,” he added.

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The man’s family has been quarantined and tracing of his immediate contacts has begun.

On Sunday, a woman, who had reached Kerala from Dubai for cancer treatment and had tested positive for COVID-19, died and 53 new cases, 47 of them returnees from abroad and other states, were detected, taking the aggregate tally of infections in the state so far to 847.

Totally 322 people are presently undergoing treatment for the virus, while 520 have been cured and discharged, Health Minister K K Shailaja said in a press release.

Over 95,000 people are under observation. With the death of the 53-year old woman, hailing from Kalpetta in Wayanad district, the toll due to the infection is five.

The woman had reached the state on May 20 for cancer treatment and was tested for the virus as a precautionary measure and was found positive following which she was admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College hospital, where she died this afternoon.

So far, four people have died from the infection. While a 73-year-old woman, who had reached the state in a taxi from Mumbai, had died of the infection on May 21. Three people, including a four-month-old baby girl had died earlier of COVID-19.

A 18-year old man, who was under quarantine after returning from Tamil Nadu, died on Sunday. Though his first sample was negative, another sample has been sent for testing, officials said.

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While 12 people each from Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur tested positive for the virus, Malappuram and Kasaragod had five cases each, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Palakkad districts had four cases each, 3 from Kollam, 2 from Pathnamthitta and one from Kozhikode have tested positive on Sunday, besides a person from Tamil Nadu.

Eighteen people (3 from Oman, 11 from UAE, 3 from Saudi Arabia and one from Kuwait) who had come from abroad and 29 (Maharashtra-19, Gujarat-5, TN-3, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh- one each) from other states have tested positive.

Five people, including a health worker from Palakkad, have been infected due to contact,while five people, who were under treatment for the virus, have been cured and discharged. Totally 93,404 people have come to the state.

While 7,847 have come by air, 1,621 through sea, 79,908 via checkposts and 4,028 by trains have come to the state.

At least 95,394 people are under observation, of which 94,662 are at home and institutitonal quarantine while 732 are in hospitals. At least 188 were admitted to the hospital today.

So far, samples of 53,873 people have been sent for testing, of which results of 52,355 are negative. The total number of hotspots in the state has gone up to 55 with 18 new areas being brought in today.

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In Kannur, 67 people are undergoing treatment for the virus, the highest in the state, followedby Malappuram (49) and Palakkad (48).

On May 8, Kerala had reported a solitary case and just 16 people were under treatment and Chief Minsiter Pinarayi Vijayan had declared that the state had flattened the COVID-19 curve.

However, with more people coming to the state from abroad and other states,the number of coronavirus cases has seen a sudden spike in the past few days.

While on Friday, 42 cases were reported, on Saturday it went up to 62 and on Sunday 53 cases have been reported taking the total to 157 in the past three days.

(With inputs from agencies)