E-Paper
Kerala’s daily viral caseload hits all-time high with 18,257 new Covid-19 infections
The first state to report a virus case in the country in January 2020, Kerala has been witnessing constant peaks and curves in the last one year. A close look at the statistics show after local body elections in December, Covid-19 cases peaked but came down after two months and started peaking again in March.
Kerala recorded the highest single-day surge on Sunday with 18,257 new Covid-19 cases and a test positivity rate (TPR) of 16.77%, according to the data released by the state health ministry. At least five districts in the state reported more than 1000 new cases.
The state has tested the maximum samples in the last 24 hours-- 1,08, 898, clocking a high TPR. The active caseload has also risen to 93,686. Ernakulam topped the list with 2835 cases followed by Kozhikode district with 2560 cases. Many areas in the worst-affected districts were declared containment zones and restrictions tightened by district collectors. The state also recorded 26 fatalities taking the death toll to 4929.
The first state to report a virus case in the country in January 2020, Kerala has been witnessing constant peaks and curves in the last one year. A close look at the statistics show after local body elections in December, Covid-19 cases peaked but came down after two months and started peaking again in March. Many health experts blamed the recently-concluded assembly elections for the latest surge but state health minister K K Shailaja did not agree with that view.
“In Maharashtra and Delhi there were no elections but cases peaked. We can’t blame only the elections for this,” she said. She said the state which has a high density of population will have to be extra cautious-- only 11 per cent of the total population were exposed to the virus and 10 per cent have got inoculated.
Though cases are rising steadily the robust health system in the state is managing the situation well, ground reports show. Out of 11,584 Covid-19 beds in the government sector, 6403 were occupied leaving 5181 unoccupied. In the private sector also enough beds are unoccupied. In Kerala at least 70 per cent of the population depend on the private sector for their medical needs.
