Kerala: This Covid-19 patient maintained his daily contact details and self-isolation since the symptom onset

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 27-year-old water purifier technician at Alamukku in Poovachal panchayat, who has been tested positive for Covid-19, kept a copy of the job card and recorded his daily contact details on phone. This has proved immensely helpful for the contact-tracing team. Being a technician, he had been on assignments to houses, offices and institutions from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam and he kept a copy of all contact details and when the health team contacted him as part of tracing exercise, he handed over the data that was ready with him.
Right from the onset of symptoms, he confined himself to home and sought medical help at Vellanad community health centre.He was given medication and he went to room isolation at home. He had read about the possible symptoms of Covid-19 and when he lost his sense of smell and taste and symptoms did not relieve after one week, he contacted the health team in his panchayat. He waited till an ambulance arrived and he went to give his swab at General Hospital on Tuesday night.
He had attended Sunday prayer in the church near his house last week. He did not have any symptoms that day. He could effectively recount the contacts at the church, the people he had met as part of his job and communicate it to the disease-investigation team. “I have my parents, grandmother and brother at home. I have done my best to isolate myself from them ever since I had symptoms. I have also handed over all contact details to the health team. I feel better now but I cannot sense any taste or smell,’’ he said. He is undergoing treatment at General Hospital.
His friends who accompanied him to Vellanad hospital when he had developed symptoms for the first time are also under room isolation. “We decided to go into room isolation because they had gotten in contact with me. It started off with body pain, later I experienced all symptoms about which I had read,’’ he said.
He is not sure where he would have contracted infection from. A few weeks ago, they had taken part in a house construction unmindful of the showers and initially he thought he was feverish because of that. His brother is also feverish and swabs of his family members will be collected on Sunday.