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Kerala mulls full lockdown in worst-affected districts
Thiruvananthapuram: As coronavirus cases rise exponentially in Kerala, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said complete lockdown might be imposed in some of the worst-affected districts from next Tuesday, if the situation continued like this
Thiruvananthapuram:
As coronavirus cases rise exponentially in Kerala, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said complete lockdown might be imposed in some of the worst-affected districts from next Tuesday, if the situation continued like this.
“The government is considering a lockdown in districts with high number of cases and TPR. We are closely monitoring the situation. It seems more curbs are needed,” Vijayan said. He added that during weekends, only essential services will be allowed throughout the state.
Kerala reported 37,199 new Covid-19 cases on Friday with a test positivity rate (TPR) of 24.88%, taking the active caseload in the state to 303,733.
Addressing a virtual press meet from Kannur, his native district, the CM said Kerala was not in a position to start vaccination for the 18 to 44 age group from May 1. “The state has limitations in this. We are facing an acute shortage. Since we are finding difficult to give second shot, it is better to postpone it (vaccination) till we get enough stocks,” he said. Though Kerala has decided to buy 10 million doses (7 million Covishield and 3 million Covaxin) from manufacturers, experts said it will take at least three months for the state to get vaccines.
In three districts, more than 4,000 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported on Friday. They include Kozhikode 4,915, Ernakulam 4,642 and Thrissur 4,281 cases. The TRP was above 15% in 12 districts of the state, according to state health department.
The government has also decided to set up oxygen war rooms in every district and directed district collectors to monitor the stock and report to the state control room. The CM said the state has enough stock, but logistics of distribution will have to be monitored closely.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Friday observed that situation in the state was “really worrying” and directed the government to impose restrictions strictly on counting day on May 2 and cut down the cost of treatment in private hospitals. The court gave the direction while hearing a plea requesting affordable universal rate for Covid-19 treatment.
The court also observed that some private hospitals were charging exorbitantly and asked the government to discuss it with private hospital managements and make the same affordable. The court cited the experience of a Covid-19 patient, who was treated at a private hospital and forced to pay through his nose. The court said the patient commented that he could defeat Covid-19, not the hospital bill.
With cases soaring exorbitantly, RT-PCR tests were affected in many private laboratories. Last week, the government slashed price of tests from ₹1,700 to ₹500. The government took the decision after the price reduction of ICMR-approved test kits. But many labs said they will incur heavy loss if they won’t get bulk tests. Testing in many small towns was affected because to this.
The state has been reporting over 30,000 cases in the last four days. It also reported 49 deaths in last 24 hours, taking total fatalities to 5,308. Despite mounting cases, the only solace for the state was the low death rate, which was below 0.4, lowest in the country, health ministry statistics show.
