Kerala continued to report over 30,000 COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day on Friday. Besides, 179 deaths took the toll to 20,313.
The state logged 32,801 cases today, up from 30,007 on Thursday. The figure was 31,445 cases on Wednesday. The number of samples tested in the last 24 hours increased to 1,70,703, state health minister Veena George said, compared to 1,66,397 on Thursday. The Test Positivity Rate stood at 19.22 per cent, an increase from 18.03 on August 26.
"Out of those found infected today, 144 reached the state from outside while 31,281 contracted the disease from their contacts. The sources of infection of 1,260 are yet to be traced. Among the infected are 116 health workers, " the minister said in a release.
Among the districts, Malappuram reported the highest number of cases (4,032), followed by Thrissur 3,953 and Ernakulam 3,627, Kozhikode 3,362 and Kollam 2,828. Meanwhile, 18,573 persons recuperated from the disease on Friday, taking the total cured in the state to 37,30,198.
Currently, there are 1,95,254 persons under treatment in the state. The health department said there are 353 wards across 70 local self government bodies where the weekly infection population ratio was above eight per cent.
Meanwhile, even as there is a rise in COVID-19 cases, Veena George said there's nothing to worry about.
"We must be cautious about the rise in cases and social distancing norms must be followed at all cost. People should discourage family get-togethers and other gatherings, which includes children," India Today quoted the state health minister as saying.
"In May, our daily case load reached 40,000. We, however, managed to provide adequate treatment for all the patients. The ICMR sero-pervalance is an important parameter. As per that, less than 50 per cent of Kerala's population was exposed to this virus," she added.
"Even as the cases are increasing, the severity is quite less ICU, ventilators occupancy is well below or around the 50% mark," George further added.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has rejected the criticism for alleged mishandling of the pandemic in the state and called it "unwanted."
Responding to the criticism being bombarded his way, in an article published in Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s magazine 'Chintha', he said Kerala has reported "no death due to lack of oxygen."
Moreover, "no one has been deprived of medical aid or bed." The Chief Minister further questioned if Kerala's model is "wrong" in the containment of COVID-19, then "which model should we adopt?" "There are discussions around the lines that the present containment strategy in the state is not appropriate," he said.
Vijayan further alleged that some people are trying to neglect the facts and "deliberately creating confusion." Several Opposition leaders have also condemned the government for inappropriate handling of the pandemic.
(With ANI and PTI inputs)
