Thiruvananthapuram, July 22: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today assured the people of the state that the government was fully geared up to handle the current spike in Covid cases.
Briefing the media, the Chief Minister said, “With the number of new active Covid cases in the state exceeding 1,000 in a day, the present situation and the details about the medical facilities need to be mentioned. Of the 8,056 Covid patients currently under treatment, 53 are in the ICU and nine are on the ventilator. The case per million in Kerala is 419.1 as against the national figure of 864.4. the fatality rate in the State is 0.31 as compared to 2.41 in India. So far 86,959 persons have been identified as primary contacts and 37,937 people were identified as secondary contacts in the state. Of the total number of positive cases, 65.16% are currently locally acquired (locally transmitted) and Thiruvananthapuram district has the highest at 94.4%.”
In addition to the dedicated hospital beds for Covid treatment, 15,975 additional beds have been set up at the First Line Treatment Centres and of these, 4,535 are being currently used in treatment. The State has a stock of 3.42 lakhs N95 masks, 3.86 lakh PPE kits, 16.1 lakhs three-layer masks and 40.3 lakhs gloves for health workers. 80 ventilators have been purchased in the last few days. 270 ICU ventilators were given by the Central Government. Another 50 ventilators are expected from the central government within two weeks. Enough oxygen has been stocked to operate 6,007 ventilators day and night. Liquid oxygen facilities are available at seven medical college hospitals. 947 ambulances are ready specifically for Covid purpose.
“The e-Sanjeevini telemedicine system is functioning in all the districts and at present, there are 50 mobile medical units in operation. Work is underway to establish another 19. We are prepared to face the current situation”, the CM added.
Kerala’s discharge policy for Covid patients
The Chief Minister today clarified that Kerala’s discharge policy regarding Covid patients is different from the existing policies at the national level and in other states. As per national policy, a patient is discharged after 10 days of admission if there are no minor symptoms. Most states follow that method. Initially in Kerala, a patient was discharged only after two consecutive negative test results.
“Now, tests have been made mandatory in asymptomatic cases also in the updated guidelines of the Department of Health published yesterday. Patients will be discharged only if the antigen test is negative. Kerala has always followed a policy of discharging patients only after test negative. This is to ensure the safety of the community and to prevent the further spread of the disease. In the third phase of the Covid outbreak in the State, the numbers have been increasing rapidly and today it has cross 1,000. A pandemic creates a complex situation”, the CM said.
Free Onam provision kits for 88 lakhs ration card holders
The Chief Minister today announced that grocery kits will be distributed free of cost to 88 lakhs ration cardholders during Onam, in the context of the Covid outbreak. The kit will contain 11 items. The distribution of the free Onam kit would start in the last week of August. In addition, 10 kg rice will be distributed in August at Rs. 15 per kg rate to non-priority sections who do not receive adequate ration.