Kerala: Lockdown on Cards? Govt Calls Emergency Review Meeting Today; State Health Minister Says Next 4 Weeks Crucial | 3 Big Updates

Meanwhile, the government will hold an emergency review meeting to take stock of the prevailing situation.

Thiruvananthapuram: Days after the Covid-19 test positivity rate (TPR) in Kerala surpassed 17 per cent, state health minister Veena George cautioned the people that the coming four weeks are going to be very crucial as the 10-day Onam festivities end. The 10-day Onam festivities concluded on Sunday and before the festival season began itself, Kerala had more than 50 per cent of the daily new Covid cases and had the highest number of active cases in the country.

Next 4 Weeks Crucial, Will Kerala Impose Lockdown? 

Meanwhile, the government will hold an emergency review meeting to take stock of the prevailing situation.  If reports are to be believed that govt might take a tough decision regarding the imposition of restrictions again. Earlier this month, the Kerala government had announced an easing of the lockdown curbs. However, Health Minister Veena George, had clearly stated that it would be a triple lockdown for shops located in an area, where over 10 of the 1000 people of the population are infected in a week.

“It’s not possible to enforce lockdown all the time as the economic activity has to go and it’s the responsibility of the government to protect both lives and livelihoods. We have made it very clear to ensure maintaining all Covid protocols and while some did it, at many places things did not go the way it should have. The presence of the Delta variant is a cause of concern and a third wave is also expected and hence the coming weeks are going to be very crucial,” said George.

How Kerala is Preparing For Possible Third Wave

Considering a possibility of a third wave, the government has revamped the health infrastructure “We have presently 870-tonne Oxygen stock and 33 Oxygen generation plants are being set up. Our aim is to speed up the vaccination campaign to cover as many people as possible. Though the vaccines have been taken by many, there are chances of the Delta variant spreading quickly and hence all should continue to be cautious and ensure all safety norms are observed,” added George.

COVID-19 Situation in Kerala

Kerala was yet to see any respite from Covid as 13,383 people turned positive from 85,650 samples tested in the past 24 hours. It should be noted that for the past few days the number of daily COVID cases is below the 20,000-mark because of the Onam season when the testing come down considerably as people were, by and large, in a holiday mood.