Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who met the media on Thursday described Kerala as the most safest place in the world while the situation in the country was grave and a matter of concern.
“Kerala has the lowest fatality rate in the world as it has recorded only eight deaths per million Covid-19 cases while Sweden has more than 500 deaths per every million cases,” said Vijayan. He also said that on Thursday, Kerala has diagnosed 2,406 Covid-19 cases and ten deaths. Out of the 2,406 cases diagnosed positive on Thursday, 2,175 persons contracted the pandemic through social transmission, the chief minister said.
He repeated that the Covid-19 situation everywhere in the country except Kerala was grave and attributed it to the systematic measures adopted by his government. “Had the government in Kerala been like the ones in other South Indian States, death rates would have been manifold here. Tamil Nadu recorded about 7,000 deaths while Karnataka saw more than 5,000 persons succumbing to the pandemic,” said Vijayan.
The Chief Minister claimed that Kerala was the only State which could prevent the transmission/spread of the pandemic. “We in Kerala have the best medical facilities in the country. The private hospitals do not charge a rupee more than what has been fixed by the Government. Treatment is absolutely free in all government hospitals. Those who have been hospitalised are being provided with free food and medicine by my Government,” said the Chief Minister.
He disclosed that 2,465 persons were hospitalised in the State on Thursday. PNS
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan in a message released on Thursday had said that Delhi and Tamil Nadu topped the table of ten states with highest recovery rates. While the recovery rate in Delhi was 90 per cent, Tamil Nadu finished secpnd with 85 per cent. But Kerala does not figure in the list of states with ten highest recovery rate, said a veteran medical physician in Kerala. “The chief minister is angry over this let down,” he said.