No one died of oxygen shortage: Kerala CM on state's surge in COVID cases

Facing flak over his government’s handling of the sudden surge in COVID-19 cases in the state, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has shot back at the critics by saying that no one died in the state due to lack of oxygen.

In an article in CPI(M)’s magazine Chintha, Vijayan said the critics while ignoring bare facts were resorting to fear mongering through unnecessary controversies.

“There are some unnecessary controversies surrounding the second wave. Some sections are trying to create fear among people by portraying the high numbers during the second wave as a cause of concern,” Hindustan Times quoted him as writing.

Kerala, which has been recording an upwards of 30,000 cases for the past three days and accounts for over 68 per cent of India’s total cases

Also read: 31K fresh cases, TPR 19%: Kerala’s COVID spike continues

logged in 32,801 new COVID-19 cases and 179 deaths on Friday. The test positivity rate stood at 19.22 per cent.

The Centre has accused the Pinarayi Vijayan government of not following COVID-19 guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

“The state, instead of using scientific methods to contain the spread, is trying to use pandemic for political objectives. I urge it to follow ICMR guidelines,” Union minister V Muraleedharan said on Thursday in a dig at the Kerala government.

Vijayan, however, has rubbished the allegations saying the fact that there has been no oxygen deaths in the state is proof that the Kerala model is working.

“If Kerala model is wrong in COVID containment, then which model should we follow?” he said.

“No one had died in Kerala due to a lack of oxygen. No person was deprived of medical aid or medical bed,” the chief minister added.

Vijayan said Kerala also had the least percentage of infected population and not a “single drop of vaccine” was wasted in the state and all extra doses were used.

Backing the Kerala model of COVID-19 management, Health Minister Veena George said the state plans to extend its vaccination drive and be stricter about isolation of positive patients.

George said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has assured her of sending a requested 1.11 crore shots of vaccine by September 30.

Even though the state is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 infections, George said the severity of the infections was less and the ICU and ventilator-occupancy was below 50 per cent.