India: Commandos deployed in Kerala’s Poonthura as COVID-19 cases surge in coastal belt

Thiruvananthapuram: A team of 25 commandos was deployed in Poonthura on Wednesday after 119 COVID-19 positive cases were reported from the 600 samples tested in five days.

The coastal belt of Poonthura is becoming a major hotspot of coronavirus with the recent outbreak.

State Police Chief Loknath Behara said that the Coast Guard, Coastal Security and Marine Enforcement have been instructed to prevent the boats from fishing in Poonthura to Tamil Nadu and vice versa.

“The coastal belt of Poonthura was instructed to implement a very strict triple lockdown. SAP Commandant-in-Charge L. Solomon will lead 25 member commandos for special duty in the coastal region,” the DGP said.

He added that Deputy Commissioner Divya V Gopinath and Assistant Commissioner Aishwarya Dongre will lead the police operations in Poonthura. ADGP Sheikh Darvesh Saheb will oversee the operations.

Police in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu will ensure that no one crosses the border from Thiruvananthapuram to Kanyakumari or the other way around. State Police Chief Loknath Behra spoke to Tamil Nadu DGP JK Tripathi over the phone on the issue.

Against the backdrop of the outbreak of the coronavirus cases, a high-level meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday, which was attended by Chief Secretary, the Health Secretary, the Police Chief and the District Collector of Thiruvananthapuram.

In the meeting, it was decided to strictly prevent people from reaching Poonthura from outside. Coastal police have been advised to stop people from reaching Poonthura by sea and the borders will be sealed. The district administration will provide all necessary assistance to the people of the region.

The total number of positive cases in Kerala stands at 6,195, of which 2,609 patients are active cases, 3,559 patients have been cured/discharged while 27 patients have succumbed to the virus.