Kerala suffers from rising Covid cases.The outbreak of Zika virus exacerbates the problem

After winning praise for the “Kerala model” that fights infectious diseases about a year ago, the state is now seeing 12,000 to 15,000 fresh cases daily, as some experts have stated.

State reported 14,087 Fresh COVID The infection and 109 deaths on Saturday brought the total number of cases to 30,39,029 and the number of casualties to 14,380. Active cases touched on 1,13,115.

Health Minister Veena George recently said that certain unlocking measures are expected to cause a surge in virus numbers and a decrease in virus numbers.

On June 1, this year, Kerala reported 19,760 positive cases, but on June 7, 9,313 new cases were recorded, a slight decrease for a week.

However, two days later, it reached 16,204 again. For over a month, the state has reported 11,000 to 13,000 cases daily.

By the way, the first case of Covid-19 in India originated from the state in January 2020, when a third-year medical student in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese virus, tested positive.

Two other Wuhan returnees from the state were also positive, and all three subsequently recovered.

According to experts, a stable rate of COVID infection in Kerala helps the state fight off the virus and keep medical facilities from overwhelming, but the longer it lasts, the more stressful it is for doctors and healthcare professionals. Will increase.

While Medical professional Those who spoke to PTI praised the Kerala state government for precautions that helped prevent the infection rate from peaking significantly, and the government forced COVID to take appropriate action after the unlocking phase took place. There was an opinion that it could not be done. down.

They said vaccination was key and state governments should try to procure vaccines by some means rather than relying on the central government for supply.

Dr. TS Anish, who specializes in community medicine, said the current situation is controversial.

Prolonged infection rates put stress on doctors and other healthcare professionals, and in the event of a third wave, a partially filled health system can be overwhelmed.

He also said it was a concern that the government was unable to reduce the rate of infection.

According to him, some of the measures taken by the government were unscientific. For example, they allowed overcrowding in stores and liquor stores, and did not provide services available online.

“Crowding must be absolutely prevented,” he added. People wear masks on the streets, but not at work or at celebrations.

Dr. Salad, a virologist, also said that people did not follow the proper behavior of COVID. This is also the reason why the number of cases did not decrease.

She and Anish expressed the view that vaccination is the key and the only solution, and that the state government should strive to obtain more vaccines by any means.

Salad also said that unlike Kerala, other states probably did not test the rural population, so they may not show that many numbers.

Citing the positive side of the situation, Dr. Anish said the government was able to prevent a sharp increase in COVID during the peak of the second wave of COVID by implementing a blockade, which prevented the health care system from being overwhelmed. ..

This stable infection rate also helps prevent a third wave, as medical systems and machines are alert and detect new mutations and mutations quickly.

According to him, if the number of cases is significantly reduced, less testing will reduce the alertness of the system and therefore the third wave should have already been hit by the time a new variant or mutation is detected. is.

Dr. Amar Fettle, State Node Officer at COVID-19, said the Kerala government is conducting extensive testing to ensure that infected people are not overlooked and is taking steps to secure vulnerable older people and children. Said. Infectious diseases are protected.

He added that the tests were conducted in high-risk groups.

After a long blockade, when the blockade phase takes place, people go on an adventure and the infection re-enters the house, Fettle said.

He said long surges are better than short spikes and waves because they don’t burden the health care system.

But he said he couldn’t predict how long this trend would last and when the numbers would go down.

“The government’s efforts were to ensure that the number of infected people did not exceed the state’s medical capacity and that no one died due to lack of beds or oxygen,” Health Minister Veena George said on Friday. Stated.

She claimed that vaccination was the only way to prevent the spread of the virus.

She also said that preventative mechanisms such as blockade implementation, containment zone designation, and active testing and tracking by the state government ensure protection of a large number of susceptible people.

According to the minister, with the help of police, the Ministry of Health will take steps to ensure that people follow COVID protocols such as social distance and wearing masks when leaving home.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern about the persistently high number of COVID cases from Maharashtra and Kerala.

Kerala opposition parliament and the BJP claim that George has nothing to hide from the government, claiming a “mismatch” in their numbers while all deaths have been reported, and covid-related casualties. Attacked the ruling pope over.

Former Health Minister KK Shailaja was also accused of a steady increase in COVID cases during his tenure.

In addition to that issue, the state currently has 14 active cases of Zika virus, and a central team will arrive here later to help the government deal with the situation.