Kerala Health Minister Okay Okay Shailaja speaks to The Indian Express on why the state authorities shouldn’t be frightened concerning the excessive variety of lively instances being reported from the state.
Kerala has the very best variety of lively instances, it’s reporting the utmost variety of instances day by day, nearly one fourth of the nationwide tally. Why are the numbers not coming down?
Kerala has been making a scientific effort to regulate the pandemic. In a pandemic, there shall be a peak, irrespective of how we attempt to management it. Otherwise, there must be an entire lockdown and when there is no such thing as a complete lockdown, the Covid pandemic can have one peak season. And our technique has been delaying the height, to keep away from a sudden peak which might result in disaster in hospitalisation and an increase within the variety of deaths. With our tracing-quarantaine-break the chain programme, we delayed the height which helped us to enhance our well being system – extra beds, extra ICUs, oxygen stream and many others. We obtained that point. In some states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the height got here fairly quick and the variety of deaths went up. The system couldn’t management the state of affairs and the dying toll went as much as 1000’s every day. But in Kerala, our every day dying toll by no means went past 25 — largely aged folks or with comorbidity. Kerala’s achievement has been limiting deaths. Even now, a state with such inhabitants density, the dying fee is half per cent. The state reached the height, steadily, not rapidly. Considering the inhabitants density and different points, the quantity was predicted to cross 20,000, however we have now not reached that stage.
Kerala’s surge began in September and the pageant season of Onam and a few political actions have been blamed. But different states additionally had festivals like Diwali and Chhath and many others. But no different state confronted this sort of a state of affairs.
Actually, there was no such rise within the pageant season additionally. See, in a pandemic, it will get unfold to most variety of folks after which comes down. In different states, the instances went up and began coming down, however resulted in additional variety of deaths. Our principal function for the technique was to forestall the unfold to most variety of folks directly and restrict the variety of deaths. We by no means confronted a disaster with hospital beds or scarcity of well being employees. Not at a single level, greater than 25 per cent of our ventilators have been occupied by Covid sufferers. Other sufferers additionally continued to be handled in hospitals.
Are you glad with the outcomes of your efforts?
We have taken most care and efforts. I don’t really feel responsible in any respect. But we didn’t need any deaths to occur. However, in a traditional 12 months, we have now many deaths on account of infectious ailments. In truth, the variety of deaths in Kerala in 2020 is lower than that of the earlier 12 months. That’s what the statistics until November confirmed. We are ready for the December tally. Once it’s achieved, we are going to publicise the information.
Are folks following tips for social distancing and sporting masks?
No matter how intense our consciousness marketing campaign is, a small part of individuals will at all times flout the protocols. We can’t anticipate 100 per cent compliance in any society. With widespread and intense marketing campaign, 80 per cent of the inhabitants began sporting masks and utilizing hand sanitisers. Otherwise, the state would have been worse than Maharashtra. We have good well being services, however we have now three large challenges – inhabitants density, the excessive variety of outdated age inhabitants, and way of life ailments.
The state authorities has requested the Centre to provide Kerala precedence in offering the vaccine. What is its response?
The Centre factors out Kerala nonetheless has the very best variety of instances. But there’s one other difficulty right here — the reporting system. It will get uncovered quickly. While we have been instructed about different states which don’t mission the precise variety of instances, Kerala’s reporting system is absolutely efficient. We don’t depart a single case unnoticed. The Centre is conscious of it additionally. Even in Thursday’s assembly, the Centre didn’t blame the state. In the assembly, I identified that even in excessive peak, our quantity is lower than that of many different states.
In the assembly on vaccine, I instructed them that Kerala ought to get it on an emergency foundation. I additionally demanded that retaining the inhabitants and its vulnerability in thoughts, the state ought to get extra vaccines. I’ve knowledgeable them the state is prepared for vaccine distribution and ready. There was no denial from their facet, nor was there an assurance. I believe we are going to get precedence.
What is the most important problem for you now?
Now that all the pieces has opened — when the Centre lifts the lockdown, the state can’t proceed strict lockdown — controlling the instances is much more harder. Opening up can also be essential to preserve the economic system going and other people must work for livelihood. Now our greatest problem is to guard the outdated age inhabitants from getting affected. We are specializing in reverse quarantine and there are literally thousands of well being employees working onerous on getting it carried out. So far, we have now managed it, I can’t discuss tomorrow.
Has the outbreak of different ailments like fowl flu or mutated strains sophisticated the state’s efforts?
Kerala’s terrain is fertile for infectious ailments. It is our efficient well being system and the state authorities’s effort that stop grave calamities within the state. The variety of water our bodies in Kerala entice numerous migratory birds and the state turns into susceptible to ailments like avian flu.
There can also be a difficulty — a single dying in Kerala is reported nationally and internationally. Some different states had so many deaths, but it surely by no means obtained such consideration from the media. As the state has been successfully dealing with the problem, any casualties get reported additionally. Nothing is getting observed in Kerala, nonetheless we have now managed this a lot.
