THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State is in an acceleration phase of Covid-19. In this critical phase, healthcare workers are more concerned about super-spreading events like public gatherings, political protests, funeral processions and others. They are worried that allowing such events which could facilitate droplet transmission might make things worse than expected. Experts warn that sometimes through such events a single person could infect dozens. They demand that such events should be banned and the violators charged under the Epidemic Diseases Ordinance 2020 and Epidemic Diseases Act.
“The state is in a critical juncture. Other than returnees turning positive, cases due to local transmission and asymptomatic transmission are there. There are also cases with the source of infection remaining untraceable. In such a scenario events like political protests and funeral of political leaders by flouting norms like social distancing are not at all justifiable. If it continues the state will be heading to big trouble,” said an officer of the health department.
According to the officer, the health department itself is dissatisfied with the lackadaisical approach of the ruling party conducting the final farewell to its senior leader P K Kunjananthan. Said a member of the state rapid response team for Covid-19 on condition of anonymity, “On one side the chief minister is demanding to practice social distancing and limit the number of people attending marriages and funeral functions. But on the other side, his party men flouted the same. They have set a bad example before the public.”
‘EXPECT SUPER SPREADING FROM AGITATIONS’ The health department is concerned about the increasing number of agitations taking place in the state under the banners of various political outfits, against the background of upcoming local body elections. IMA state president Dr Abraham Varghese said: “Protest means grouping of people. What if this group has the presence of an asymptomatic person? These protesters are neither maintaining social distancing nor wear facemasks while shouting slogans. Through shouting, there will be an emission of aerosols, which could infect a lot of people at one time. These irresponsible responses in the time of pandemic should not be allowed.” He had a word of caution against wearing facemasks improperly and flouting social distancing norms even by officers and politicians holding office.