Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 11: Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today said that the more dangerous Delta variant of the Coronavirus was more prevalent in Kerala during the outbreak of the second wave of Covid in the State. But he also added that the threat of the second wave was now over.
Briefing the media, the Chief Minister said, “We are now slowly recovering from the severity of the threat posed by the second wave of the Covid pandemic. There has been a decline in the number of patients and the prevalence of the disease. The crowding at hospitals is also declining. The lockdown was effective in controlling the spread of the disease. Kerala has also been able to reduce the death toll in a better way compared to other regions. However, the situation is not yet conducive to give full relaxations. The average test positivity rate (TPR) for the last three days is 13.9%. The aim is to get it below 10% at the earliest. Restrictions will be firmly enforced in local bodies with more patients. People should strictly follow the Covid protocol outside and at home, as well.
The CM informed that more than 25% of the population in the state has been vaccinated with the first dose. We are going ahead with the hope that the centre will provide the necessary vaccines. Instructions have been given to exhaust the existing stock. The staff of the ministers and the entire staff of the Government Secretariat will be vaccinated on priority.
The Chief Minister also stressed the need to maximise the gap between the second and the possible third wave in the state. “There will be a higher causality rate if the next wave suddenly hits and peaks. Therefore, lockdown relaxations would be implemented cautiously and people should maintain the Covid norms even after the lockdown. Measures to further strengthen the healthcare infrastructure will be vigorously pursued during this time.” He assured that extensive measures are being taken to prevent infection among children during the next wave. “All preparations are being done to face the third wave and the infrastructure of all hospitals is being enhanced.”
Meanwhile, 14,233 new cases of Covid-19 were detected in Kerala today from 1,07,096 sample tests in the last 24 hours with a TPR of 13.29%. at the same time, 173 recent deaths were confirmed as caused by Covid and the death toll in the State is now 10,804. At present, there are 1,34,001 persons under treatment for the disease in Kerala even as 15,355 patients have recovered today. Thiruvananthapuram district has the highest number of 2,060 new positive cases.