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Kerala reports over 22,000 Covid-19 cases for third consecutive day
On the third consecutive day Kerala reported over 22,000 Covid-19 virus cases on Thursday showing no sign of any downward trend, state health ministry statistics show
On the third consecutive day Kerala reported over 22,000 Covid-19 virus cases on Thursday showing no sign of any downward trend, state health ministry statistics show. The state reported 22,064 cases after testing 1,63,098 samples with a test positivity rate (TPR) of 13.55 per cent.
Its active caseload also rose to 1,54,820. The country logged 43,509 new cases on Thursday of which the state’s share was more than half of the total cases. The national weekly TPR average is 2.38 whereas for the state it stood at more than 11 percent.
Kerala also reported 128 Covid-19 deaths taking the total number of fatalities to 16,585, according to the health ministry data.
A close look at the recent statistics shows an upward trend in Covid-19 cases in the state. Kerala reported 22,056 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday with a TPR of 11.2 percent while on Tuesday it accounted for 22,129 cases. Three districts - Malappuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode - topped the most-affected districts in the country reporting around 3,000 daily cases. The Union government has decided to rush another team of experts in a couple of days to co-ordinate containment and mitigation measures. This will be the second team to visit the state in July.
State health minister Veena George said there is no need for panic and the government is doing everything possible to contain the surge. She said since a large chunk of people is uninfected, the number will remain high before stabilizing. The fourth round of the serosurvey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research shows antibody prevalence to be 67.7 per cent nationally while it is 42.7 % in the state. This shows a huge chunk of the population in the state is still susceptible to the virus.
Experts have asked the government to move from containment to mitigation and redraw its strategies. “Targeted testing resulted in high TPR. It has a better case detection rate. But this alone won’t do,” said public health expert Dr NM Arun, emphasising the need to redraw present strategies.
As cases show no sign of abating, the blame game has also started among political parties. Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the state’s “unmindful relaxation” during the Bakrid festivities led to the spike but the CPI(M) said the Union government’s “poor vaccine distribution policy” led to the sorry state.
“50% of the Covid positive cases come from Kerala, thanks to Eid relaxations. But as expected, the narrative would always be built around Kumbh or Kanwar yatra. Hmmm... Kerala model”, tweeted BJP spokesman Sambit Patra.
Another leader Amit Malviya also criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan government. “Eid relaxation is coming to roost. Silence of secularists is deafening,” said the national convenor of the party’s IT cell. He also mentioned the Muslim-majority Malappuram district, which recorded the highest number of cases, to buttress his point.
The CPI(M) criticised the BJP for taking the issue on communal lines saying, the virus has no religion or caste. “Kerala has lowest seroprevalence rate. They are more vulnerable to infection. The present policy of vaccine distribution punishes the state that protected a larger portion of people from infection. Provide more vaccine to Kerala than free advices,” tweeted former state finance minister Thomas Isaac.
Isaac said the country will have to pay a heavy price for “Modi’s vaccine folly” and the state was proud of its records.
Many BJP leaders took a pot shot on awards the state received during the first wave. A BJP delegation from the state is also camping in the national capital to add fuel to the fire. Leaders alleged that at many places local CPI(M) leaders were controlling the vaccination drive and “behave as if the state government procured it for a price”.
