New Delhi: While the COVID-19 situation in the entire country has started improving, the numbers of daily cases recorded in Kerala are a matter of concern.
Despite the imposition of a complete weekend lockdown, Kerala recorded 20,728 fresh COVID-19 infections and 56 more deaths on Sunday. This is almost 50 percent of the total COVID-19 cases recorded in India in a 24-hour period.
At present, there are 1,67,379 active cases in Kerala. A test positivity rate of 12.14 percent was recorded out of 1,70,690 samples tested in 24 hours.
Although the COVID-19 numbers of Kerala is a matter of concern, the media exaggerate the state’s COVID-19 outbreak.
The state has handled the pandemic far better than most of the other states in the country. Its residents are least exposed to the virus, no death was reported in the state due to oxygen shortage, the mortality rate in the state is lower than the national average, and vaccination coverage is better than the national average.
Least exposed to Coronavirus
As per ICMR’s 4th national serosurvey which was conducted from the last week of June to the first week of July, Kerala’s seropositivity was 44.4 percent which means that the state residents are least exposed to coronavirus and over 50 percent of them are still susceptible to the infection. The national average seropositivity was 67.6 percent.
The state reported over 3 million COVID-19 cases till July 7 while 15.6 million people were exposed to the virus. This means that the state’s detection rate is 19 percent whereas the national average is just around 3 percent, Hindustan Times reported.
Healthcare system in Kerala saved many lives
It is a known fact that the health care system in the country was struggling to save lives during the peak of the second wave of COVID-19.
As per Datameet that analyzed deaths in the country based on news reports, no death has been reported in Kerala due to shortage of oxygen.
When it comes to mortality rate, the performance of Kerala is the best compared to major states in the country. Its mortality rate is 0.5 percent whereas the national average is 1.3 percent.
The state managed to save lives due to its outstanding health care system.
Vaccination coverage
In terms of vaccination coverage too, the state is performing well.
While only 10.9 percent of the country’s adult population has received two jabs of vaccine, 22.8 percent of Kerala’s adults are fully vaccinated.