Once hailed as a ‘model state’ in India’s fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, Kerala has now climbed to the third spot in the highest number of active cases in the country. This has raised questions about the capacity of the healthcare system, as often portrayed in the media.
On Tuesday, the State has recorded a whopping 84,958 active cases, an increase of 379 cases. Meanwhile, the total number of Coronavirus-related fatalities has soared up to 859. At the same time, 149111 people have recovered from the infection. Reportedly, the upward trend has been continuing for several days.
On Thursday, Kerala recorded an increase in 8,135 new cases. As per the data released on Friday, Thiruvananthapuram had the highest number of cases at 12,223. Other districts such as Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Kollam, Thrissur and Malappuram recorded 9,420, 8,460, 6,837, 6,392 and 6,340 cases respectively. Again on Sunday, the State government informed that around 8,553 new cases were recorded. Meanwhile, India has recorded a total of 9,19,023 fresh cases, 1,03,569 deaths and 56,62,490 recoveries.
Kerala bans public gatherings in several districts
In light of the rising cases of Coronavirus, the State has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) in several districts including Thiruvananthapuram. As such, the congregation of more than 5 people has been barred in public place in those districts. The order read, “In light of the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, public congregations and gatherings pose an impending danger of a super spread of the infection. Hence, an assembly or gathering of more than five people at a time can not be permitted.”
Coronavirus pandemic exposed Kerala’s healthcare system
The hold that communists have over media ensured that these facts regarding Kerala’s terrible management of Coronavirus crisis get pushed under the rug. India’s most literate state, which supposedly had a robust healthcare system, had left behind Uttar Pradesh in the number of active Coronavirus cases. To put things in perspective, the State has 7 times more population than Kerala. British Daily newspaper The Guardian had hailed Kerala’s health Minister KK Shailaja as ‘rockstar’. However, since Kerala has witnessed a drastic rise in cases, she has avoided giving interviews or patronising other state governments to learn from the Kerala model.
