A central team that went to Kerala to know the reason for increasing Covid-19 cases has found gaping loopholes in the management of the virus which has resurged in the Southern State at a fast pace. In its report to the Union Health ministry, it said, contact tracing of Covid-19 patients in the state is low, home isolation guidelines are not being followed and the number of tests conducted to detect the infection is showing a downward trend.
According to official sources, the report pointed out that people are becoming more complacent regarding Covid-appropriate behaviour and highlighted the need for ramping up vaccination.
In view of the sharp surge in Covid cases in Kerala, the Centre on July 29 had dispatched a six-member team headed by Dr Sujeet Singh, director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to the Southern State to take stock of the situation and recommend necessary public health interventions.
Kerala on Thursday reported 22,040 fresh coronavirus cases and 117 deaths, taking the total infection count to 34.93 lakh and the toll to 17,328. This was more than half the total national caseload of 42, 982 fresh coronavirus cases officially registered in the last 24 hours. It was also the second consecutive day when India logged over 500 Covid fatalities.
The health bulletin said that 533 Indians lost their lives due to Covid complications. In yet another subtle sign, the number of active cases in India are on a gradual upward path. At present, India has 4,11,076 active Covid cases, the official health bulletin says. The daily vaccination rate plunged to 37,45,862 on August 4. In comparison with August 3 data, there was a drop of 42.8 per cent.