The Kerala government is not focusing on containing Covid, as a result of which up to 50 per cent of the new cases are being reported from that state, along with Maharashtra, Health Ministry sources have said.
"Kerala is not focusing enough on containment...They are focused more on mitigation process of treating cases than containment," the source said. "Up to 50 per cent of new cases are coming from Kerala and Maharashtra. The fatalities are low because their health infrastructure is good."
Kerala has been reporting a high number of infections for the past many weeks even as the overall numbers have been falling rapidly since the second wave peak across India. The southern state registered 22,129 new cases and 156 deaths today, with a test positivity rate of 12.35 per cent.
It has had to stop the vaccination drive as many of its districts, including capital Thiruvananthapuram, have run out of doses, state Health Minister Veena George said yesterday.
An increasing 'R' value, or Covid reproduction rate, in Kerala had earlier this month triggered concerns of a renewed wave, which could even fuel a national spike.
On July 10, Mr George had told NDTV that the continuing reportage of a large number of Covid infections in Kerala was part of the state's strategy in fighting the pandemic and assured that this was no cause for alarm.
Overall, infections have plateaued, she said, adding that a similar trend was seen in the first wave, too. She had termed the phenomenon "dragging the wave".
Ms George, who recently replaced the much-lauded KK Shailaja in the role of the state Health Minister to the surprise of many, countered suspicions of slippage in caution. Despite a high share of susceptible persons in the state's population, only 20 per cent or 21 per cent of them may have been infected till July 10, she had said.
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