Kerala, which declared itself as a Covid-19 free-State on May 8, is facing an unprecedented grievous situation with a steep hike in the number of new patients diagnosed with the pandemic as well as the total number of persons undergoing treatment for the disease.
The State has put neighbouring Tamil Nadu way behind in both the categories, according to the facts and figures released by the respective State Governments on Saturday.
While Kerala diagnosed 7,006 new persons with Covid-19 by Saturday evening, there were only 5,647 new patients in Tamil Nadu which has more than twice the population than the former. There were 52,678 active Coronavirus afflicted persons in Kerala as on Saturday evening. But the corresponding figure for Tamil Nadu was 46,336.
The only segment in which Kerala is trailing Tamil Nadu is in the number of fatalities. While Kerala announced 21 deaths on Saturday, Tamil Nadu saw 85 persons succumbing to the pandemic during the last 24 hours.
A Government physician in Kerala, whom The Pioneer has been in touch with since the first case was reported in the State, said that the Government of Kerala has been furnishing false details about the number of cases from the beginning itself. But he did not want his name to be disclosed.
“Even the number of deaths from the State is faulty. I have authentic figures from Pathanamthitta district where more than 50 persons had died because of Covid-19. But the official claim is just three deaths,” said the doctor.
A senior scientist of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, said the situation in Kerala has been grave from the beginning itself. “If you are bold enough, just go to Medical College Hospital in the capital city. I have seen it personally,” said the scientist.
The doctor said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan knew well that the situation in the State would no more be kept secret from the general public. “It is dangerous to come to Kerala at this juncture. Out of the 7,006 new cases diagnosed on Saturday, 6,668 contracted the pandemic through social contact” he said.