There was no respite in Kerala during the last 24 hours that ended 6 pm Saturday as 45,136 persons were diagnosed with Covid-19 out of 1,00, 735 samples tested, said Veena George, health minister of the State. The death doll till date reached 51,739. The minister also disclosed that there has been a hike of 201 per cent in the number of patients afflicted with the pandemic compared to last week. Test Positivity Rate in the State was 44.8 per cent as on Saturday evening,
Though the situation in the State remained grave and critical, the health minister said that Kerala continued to be performing well in controlling the transmission of the pandemic. “Ours is the number one State in the country with the highest rate of vaccination per million. The Government has administered 1.41 million vaccinations for every million population,” said George.
But medical doctors are of the view that the number of persons diagnosed with Covid-19 each day could be five times than that of the official figures. “You find out the number of Home Covid Detection Kits sold in the State. That will give you a true figure,” said Dr Rajiv Pillai, senior physician, keeping track of the transmission of the pandemic in his personal capacity.
A Government doctor said the delay in declaring the State out of bounds for people from other States is due to the fear of the Government losing out tourists to other States. “Most of the resorts and hotel bookings have been canceled due to the spurt in the number of Covid-19 cases. The traders are exerting pressure on the government from tightening the rules,” said a tourism executive.
Though there has been fear about the surge in spread of the pandemic in the State, life continues to be normal except for the ambulances transporting patients to the hospitals.