Covid test positivity ratio (TPR) and daily new cases in Kerala reversed trend a day after the State government announced withdrawal of the night curfew and Sunday lockdown. TPR, which had come down to 15.87 per cent on Tuesday, lost gains made in recent times and rose to 17.63 per cent.

Dail new cases returned to the 30,000-figure mark at 30,196 on Wednesday (25,572 on Tuesday) on an enhanced tested sample base of 1,71,295. Number of deaths came in at 181 (189) taking the cumulative toll to 22,001. Number of recoveries are 27,579, leaving 32,817 in hospitals.

Relief on Nipah front

In Kozhikode, sample tests of 46 persons with symptoms of Nipah fever have so far tested negative in a continuing series of breaking news on Wednesday, bringing immense relief to the State Health Department. Wednesday alone saw 16 negative results, Health Minister Veena George said in Kozhikode.

Twelve more symptomatic cases are in the isolation ward at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. The contact list has 256 persons but are mild and not cause for worry. In all, 68 symptomatic persons are under observation, of which those testing negative will be sent home in a day or two.

Covid vaccination to resume

Five samples of fruit bats, widely presumed to be the reservoir of the Nipah virus just as it was in 2018 during the first outbreak, and collected from interior parts of Kozhikode, will be sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

The Covid vaccination drive in Kozhikode that had been called off after Nipah virus struck claiming the life of a 12-year-old boy on Sunday, will resume on Thursday, the Health Minister said. But the drive will be contained to those places which do not fall under Nipah containment zones.

Active Covid case load was at 2,39,480 (2,37,045 on Tuesday). Thiruvananthapuram (2,900) and Kollam (2,717) in the south have steadily added new cases over the past few days after the State Health Department had projected the jump in figures thanks to the higher R value (reproduction capacity).

First dose for 77.16% of eligible

Number of wards with a Weekly Infection Population Ratio of the threshold of seven per cent indicating intense transmission has risen to 794. While a night curfew and lockdown have been lifted in the rest parts of the state, these wards invoke a triple lockdown and associated restrictions on movement.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, 77.16 per cent (2,21,45,091 persons) of the eligible population has received the first dose of the Covid vaccine while 29.47 per cent (84,58,164) received the second. In the 45+ age group, 93 per cent has received the first dose and 49 per cent, the second dose.

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