Private hospitals have been told to set aside beds for Covid patients.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Thursday said that the state recorded 765 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours.
According to an official statement from the Health minister's office, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram districts have the highest number of Covid cases.
Health Minister George said, "The positive cases are increasing in the state and hence an alert has been issued. It has been found that Omicron is spreading in the state and the samples have been sent for genomic sequencing."
A high-level review meeting was chaired by Health Minister Veena George.
The minister also directed to increase genomic sequencing. Cases were very low in the state in February. But there was a slight increase in the number of cases in the month of March.
She said that all the districts have been instructed to strengthen preventive measures in view of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the state. All the districts have prepared surge plans in anticipation of the increase in Covid cases. Private sector hospitals must report Covid cases accurately as before.
People with lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, pregnant women, the elderly and children should be especially careful. There have been 20 Covid deaths in a month, most of whom are above 60 years of age. Most of the patients in the ICU are also elderly.
Private hospitals have been told to set aside beds for Covid patients.
KMSCL (Kerala Medical Service Corporation Limited) has been directed to prepare test kits and safety equipment anticipating the need. Covid patients should be admitted and treated in isolation wards prepared in the state.
The Minister also instructed to prepare the isolation wards to be completed, operational, as soon as possible.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)