Kerala has highest number of people susceptible to COVID: Minister
‘[Our] tests per million is the highest in the country. We are also tracing, testing and reporting every case,’ says Veena George
Kerala has the highest number of people vulnerable to coronavirus, state Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday.
The Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) seroprevalence survey shows that more than 50 per cent of Kerala’s population is still unaffected by the virus, which suggests that the state has the highest number of people in the country susceptible to COVID-19, she said in an interview.
“We are doing maximum tests, [our] tests per million is the highest in the country. We are also tracing, testing and reporting every case,” George told News18.
According to a state health department study, 35 per cent of COVID-19 patients are getting infected at home. “The situation is such that if one person from a house contracts the virus, then everyone else gets infected,” she said.
Also see: ‘From June to Aug, Kerala had just 3% breakthrough infections’
ICMR’s sero survey states that Kerala has 42.7 per cent of seropositivity. The minister said that the results of the survey show that more than 50 per cent of the state population is still unaffected, indicating Kerala’s successful protective mechanism. “We have covered more than 68 per cent of the total population with the first dose.”
“The second wave started in Kerala by middle of April, almost after one month it started in other parts of the country. We always tried to keep the number of COVID cases below the medical capacity threshold.”
Kerala on Thursday recorded 30,007 new coronavirus cases. The state’s positivity ratio stands at 18.03 per cent.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Wednesday cited Kerala’s COVID situation while advising other states to take precautionary steps during the upcoming October-November festival season.