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Covid test positivity rate (TPR) in Kerala remained steady on Thursday at 18.25 per cent (18.21 per cent on Wednesday) though the daily new cases jumped to 22,182 (17,681) on a comparably larger sample base of 1,21,486 (97,070 on Wednesday) while deaths compiled on the day came in at 178 (208).
Cumulative deaths recorded so far during the pandemic rose to 23,165, according to the State Health Department data. Number of in-patients in hospitals has come down to 27,016 (from 28,049 on Wednesday) since recoveries on Thursday at 26,563 was higher than new cases at 22,182.
Active case pool dips
Among districts, Thrissur came back to the top in terms of number of new cases recorded (3,252) followed by Ernakulam (2,901); Thiruvananthapuram (2,135); Malappuram (2,061); Kozhikode (1,792); Palakkad (1,613); Kollam (1,520); Alappuzha (1,442); and Kannur (1,246).
Size of the active case pool too has shrunk to 1,86,190 (1,90,740 on Wednesday) with only 13.4 per cent being admitted into hospitals/field hospitals. There are 2,507 wards in the State with a Weekly Infection Population Ratio (WIPR) of eight per cent that invites a triple lockdown and other restrictions.
Kerala situation 'on the mend'
A New Delhi report quoted Sujeet Singh, Director of the National Centre for Disease Control, saying that Kerala, which had a large 'susceptible pool' or people vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus, is emerging from the raging crisis it was battling a few weeks ago.
Covid-19 will start becoming endemic in the next six months, Singh said, asserting that a new variant can't alone bring a third wave of infections. This pandemic has defied most of expert predictions but it is presumed that in the next six months, it will approach the endemic status.
Easier to handle
This would mean that the infection will stay in the population but will be progressively easier to handle, like the flu. The infection would also become more manageable and easier on the health infrastructure. If the mortality and morbidity is under control, the disease can be managed better.
Back home, the State government too has been sharing these sentiments with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convening a review meeting on Saturday to decide on what is being projected as a 'graded unlock.' It is also expecting results of an ongoing sero-prevalence survey in the next two weeks or so.
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