Teen, man in Kerala with no symptoms for COVID-19 test positive

In what comes as a worrying development, a 19-year-old teenager and a 60-year-old man who did not show any symptoms of infection by the coronavirus, have now tested positive for COVID-19 in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district.

The 60-year-old man had returned from Dubai and the teenager had returned from Delhi.

This has triggered more concern amongst officials since those who do not show any symptoms of infection could still pass it on to others without detection. “This is a warning sign. Thousands of innocent, unknown people might also have come in contact with these asymptomatic carriers. The fact that they passed their 14-day quarantine period, without showing any symptoms, is further alarming. This means we still need to tread a cautious path,” NDTV quoted District Collector PB Nooh as saying.

The 60-year-old man had been in quarantine from March 19 to April 6. He was tested for COVID-19 despite not showing any symptoms since he had returned from a highly-infected area. The man had returned from Sharjah in Dubai to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala by flight, and travelled to Pathanamthitta by road.

The 19-year-old teenager had boarded the train from Delhi on March 15 and reached Ernakulam on March 17. She had then travelled to her hometown by bus and was then put under quarantine. SHe was admitted to a hospital on April 4 after testing positive for COVID-19 despite being asymptomatic.

“We have started testing people who have traveled recently to high-risk zones or those who are in vulnerable categories due to their contacts, even though they may be asymptomatic,” Pathanamthitta District Medical Officer AN Sheeja told NDTV.

The total number of COVID cases in Kerala has touched 336, with the number of active cases at 263. As many as 1.40 lakh people are under observation in the state, with 752 in various hospitals.