PALAKKAD: A native of Malappuram who reached Kerala via Walayar without a pass has contracted COVID-19. Keralites coming from other states were directed to take passes. The 44-year-old, a native of Pallikal Bazar in Malappuram who came from Chennai, has been confirmed of the virus. He is undergoing treatment at the Palakkad district hospital.

He along with a nine-member team from Chennai reached Walayar in a mini bus without taking a pass. He is an employee of a juice shop at Kottivakkam in Chennai. The team left on May 8 and reached Walayar on the morning of May 9. The officials stopped the vehicle there. He and his friend who complained of uneasiness, headache and vomiting were soon admitted at the isolation ward of the Palakkad district hospital. He was later confirmed of the virus in a sample test conducted. The other eight people who travelled with him has been placed under isolation, informed the collector. With this number of COVID cases in Malappuram rose to 26.