Kerala Sees Highest COVID-19 Spike With Over 5000 Cases In A Day But The Worst Is Yet To Come
"The increase in the number of COVID-19 cases is a matter of grave concern as the situation is not improving," this is what Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had to say on Wednesday evening, on the day when the state recorded its highest COVID-19 spike yet.
In the past 24 hours, Kerala saw 5,376 new COVID-19 cases taking the active count to 42,786.
With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases stands at 1,48,134, out of which 1,04,678, while 593 have lost their lives.
First time cases crossed 5000+
"This is the first time the number of cases has crossed the 5,000-mark in the state. The increase in numbers is a matter of grave concern as the situation is not improving. In the last 24 hours, 51,200 tests were conducted against our target of 50,000. For now, people who test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic and have facilities at home should continue in home isolation. The home environment would help them recover fast. This would also lessen the burden on the hospitals and would facilitate the treatment of those with symptoms and having other diseases," Vijayan said.
While the state is far better than its neighbors, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka when it comes to COVID-19 cases, it is not a reason for being complacent.
Kerala earlier praised but now is struggling
In fact, the Kerala government had been repeatedly?warning people not to be complacent and take the outbreak lightly.
Kerala which was initially praised across the world for its effective containment of the virus saw its grip on the situation loosening as more and more people began returning from COVID-19 affected countries and states.
Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja who has been hailed for her work had admitted that it will be a challenge for the state to control the spread once the numbers start rising.
However, the situation is still not as bad as the state government was anticipating.
In August, Shailaja had said that Kerala is likely to hit the COVID-19 peak in September when there could be up to?10,000-20,000 cases daily.?
Earlier this month, CM Vijayan had said that the second and third weeks of September could see a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state and warned about Onam Clusters, referring to the?Onam celebrations in Kerala.
The harvest festival, which is also the biggest celebration in Kerala happened this year during COVID-19 and despite the best attempts by the government, in several palaces, people had broken COVID-19 guidelines.
