THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The test positivity rate continues to remain high in the capital despite week-long lockdown and triple lockdown restrictions imposed by the state government. In the past seven days, the test positivity rate in Thiruvananthapuram has averaged around 26.1 percent, much higher to the TPR of the state which is 24.7 per cent. As of Thursday there were around 36,305 active cases and hospital occupancy continues to be high in the district raising the need for continuing the lockdown restrictions.
According to officials of the District Disaster Management Authority, there is no other way but to continue to impose lockdown restrictions to bring down the test positivity rate. As per the current schedule, the triple lockdown imposed by the state government will end on Sunday. In the past seven days around 144 Covid -19 deaths were reported in the district.
“The government will take the call on the lockdown soon. There is no respite in the number of cases and based on the current situation we have to continue with the lockdown,” said an official of the DDMA. The district has ramped up infrastructure, including CFLTCs (Covid-19 first Line Treatment Centre) and DCC (Domiciliary Care Centre), to manage the patient load.
According to experts, it would take another one or two weeks for the state to hit the plateau. “State’s TPR has come down gradually and in districts like Thiruvananthapuram, more cases are getting reported. We will get the benefits of the lockdown only in the next two weeks. The TPR has to drop below 10 per cent. Ideally, it should be below 5%. The state should lift the lockdown restrictions only after the TPR goes below 5%,” said G Vijayakrishnan, state secretary of Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA). He said hospitals are overwhelmed right now and lockdown need to continue to bring down the cases. “Even now the daily cases are above 30,000. We are expecting a decline in the next two weeks,” he said.
However, the traders community in the state feel that time regulations imposed in connection with the triple lockdown are not helping them or the public anyway. “The current time regulations imposed by the district authorities are unscientific,” said S S Manoj, of Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi.
district round-up Total number of Covid patients : 36,305
Patients under home isolation : 30,207
Patients admitted to DCCs 863
Patients admitted to CFLTCs 971
Patients admitted to CSLTCs 781
Patients admitted to Covid hospitals 1,242
Patients admitted to private hosptials 1,904