Kerala's Coronavirus Curve Has Started To Flatten, Says Minister

Kerala's coronavirus curve has started to flatten, a state minister tweeted this morning, reporting that active COVID-19 cases had declined in the last week.

Kerala has 376 cases of coronavirus, including three deaths. The third patient who died, on the weekend, is from Puducherry. No death has been reported from Kerala in the past week. Two new cases were reported on Sunday, while 36 patients recovered.  The state has a high number of recoveries - 179 - second only to Maharashtra, which is the worst-hit state in India with nearly 2,000 cases.

A week ago, Kerala had reported 357 cases, the number of deaths remaining the same. Last month, Kerala was on the top of the states' list. In January, Kerala was the first state to report a coronavirus case.

"COVID-19 curve of Kerala has started to flatten. The active cases for the last one week has declined. The recovered cases (green curve) will cross the yellow curve soon," tweeted Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac.

COVID-19 curve of Kerala has started to flatten. The active cases for the last one week has declined. The recovered cases (green curve) will cross the yellow curve soon.#COVID2019 #COVID pic.twitter.com/G9nja0UYCU

— Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) April 12, 2020

The curve refers to the projected number of new cases over a period of time. Flattening the curve is to stagger the number of new cases over a longer period, giving doctors time and resources to treat more people.

Experts credit Kerala with successfully fighting the pandemic with aggressive testing and contact tracing.

Amitabh Kant, the CEO of plan panel Niti Aayog, is among those who have praised the Left-ruled state for its efficient COVID-19 response.

"My compliments to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the people of Kerala for the remarkable handling of #COVID-19 Its daily discharges far exceed daily new infections. It has restricted secondary spread and while international mortality rate is 5.75, rate in Kerala is mere 0.58 with just 2 deaths," tweeted Mr Kant.

My compliments to CM @vijayanpinarayi & people of Kerala for remarkable handling of #COVID__19 It's daily discharges far exceed daily new infections. It has restricted secondary spread & while international mortality rate is 5.75, rate in Kerala is mere 0.58 with just 2 deaths. https://t.co/L3T82tNGLA

— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) April 11, 2020

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will decide soon on the possibilities of a lockdown exit strategy. Shops related to service and repair of home appliances and mobiles on designated days, have already been opened.

It is a huge turnaround for the coastal state, which reported the first coronavirus case in India on January 30. The patient was a student who had returned from ground zero of the virus -- Wuhan in China. By February 3, two more students who had returned from Wuhan, and were in home quarantine, tested positive.

But the spread was largely contained until March 8, when a family of three that returned from Italy to Pathanamthitta, tested positive. Five of their primary contacts were infected, including their elderly parents and a nurse treating them. However, all have recovered and are back home.

A majority of the cases in Kerala are people who returned from abroad - which is around 232.

From releasing exhaustive route maps of positive cases, to mobile tracking applications of people in quarantine, to massive mobilisation of police force to enforce the lockdown as well as essential services,  Kerala has been shown itself to be firmly in control of the global pandemic. Over 30,000 health workers, including Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers intensified their follow-up with families in isolation. The state also worked to ensure home delivery of essentials, foodgrain kits, free daily meals from community kitchens in each panchayat for even migrant workers and welfare pensions, officials claim.