Kerala Model May Not Have Lived Up To The Hype But It's Far From Being Written Off As A Failure
With more than 10,000 COVID-19 cases in a day for the first time, Kerala is turning out to be a major concern for India's battle against coronavirus.
Kerala crossed the 2.5 lakh mark on Wednesday and has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases per million population in the country followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka.
While 2.5 lakh cases are nowhere close to the worst-hit states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, it is far from what Kerala had made a name for itself not in India, but globally.
Early success
In the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kerala had won acclaim from across the world for what was being called the 'Kerala Model' which involved strict contact tracing, test, and isolation which helped the state to keep the infection rates relatively low and deaths almost nil.
But a few months down the lane, the state is merely a shadow of what it was in the early days.
Daily infections on the rise
With the high number of daily infections, the much-hyped contact tracing to the last person is no longer possible, and almost every day there are more than a hundred cases with the source of the infection unknown.
As the number of cases grows the number of deaths is also on the rise and is inching towards the 1000-mark. On average, the state is recording 20-25 COVID-19 deaths daily, which the government has warned that will go up further if cases continue to rise like this.
With the situation almost getting out of control, many have questioned whether the so-called Kerala Model was effective to start with.
The answer is yes, and it still remains one of the best strategies that have emerged out of COVID-19. But the difference is how the general public follows the guidelines.?
Like the rest of the country, the people of Kerala too were eager to get out of their houses after months of lockdown.
This showed its ugly colours in late August and early September during the Onam celebration, the biggest festival in the state.
This along with several, mass anti-government protests violating COVID-19 guidelines pushed Kerala's COVID-19 numbers to alarming levels.
But if we go by the numbers Kerala is in a better position than a lot of the states and the national average.
Kerala better than other states
Kerala's case fatality rate is 0.4% while the national average is 1.5%. Kerala is reporting 24.5 deaths for every 10 lakh people compared to 99 for every 10 lakh in the rest of the country.?
The test positivity rate in the state is 7.6% while the national average is 8.2%.
Health experts, including Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja, have said that the next few weeks will be crucial for the state.
Kerala has a high population density within a square kilometre and its senior citizen population is up to 14 per cent of the total population, who fall under the high-risk category.
Kerala has introduced what is called reverse quarantine for the senior citizens who are vulnerable and there is imminent danger of his getting infection from other sick people are encouraged not to go out.
Dr. Mohammed Asheel, the executive director of Kerala Social Security Mission who is also one of the faces of the state's battle against COVID-19 has time and again seen on TV, almost pleading to the people to adhere to the guidelines and reminding them that noting including celebration and weddings are not as important as human life.
