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Covid numbers in Kerala continued to tread a familiar path on Tuesday when test positivity rate (TPR) dipped to 15.12 per cent and 15,876 new cases being reported on a comparatively smaller sample base of 1,05,005.
Number of deaths compiled on the day is 129, which took the cumulative toll so far during the pandemic to 22,779. Number of patients admitted in hospitals has dipped to 28,887 as Tuesday had also reported 25,654 recoveries (against 15,876 new cases).
Review meeting
The weekly Covid review by experts scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed to Saturday. The meeting had assumed significance after it was widely projected that it would take a decision on allowing in-house dining in hotels and might discuss even more measures of ‘unlock’ in the State.
According to Dr TS Anish, Assistant Professor, Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, the State has a strategy of allowing a ‘graded unlock’ that facilitates a phased return to normal life even while taking extra caution not to precipitate super-spreader events.
Discretion-caution tradeoff
Meanwhile, a Government order said that after assessing the Covid scenario and the restrictions imposed to contain the same, it has been decided to restore Saturdays also as working days, wherever applicable. All employees have been instructed to report for duty accordingly.
This is applicable for all Government offices, quasi-government public sector undertakings, companies, autonomous bodies and commissions which had kept a Monday-to-Friday schedule.
Review of death data
The State government will review Covid death data in view of the Supreme Court order to include cases of Covid-induced suicides. The apex court had asked the Centre to revisit its decision of not including death by suicide as Covid-19 death even if Covid-19 is an accompanying condition.
Health Minister Veena George said that the State received more than 14.25 lakh doses of vaccine on Tuesday. This will help the ongoing inoculation drive in the State in which 79.5 per cent of the eligible population (2,28,18, 901) has received the first dose and 31.52 per cent (90,51,085) the second dose. Cumulatively, more than three crore (3,18,69,986) have received either of the doses.
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