THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state recorded a test positivity rate (TPR) of 6.20% on Sunday — the highest since February 22 — giving strong indications of a second wave of Covid-19 in the state.Currently, there are 27,893 active cases in the state, but health experts say the actual number could be far higher and the situation in the state would worsen in the coming days. Sunday’s new cases (2,802) may not look alarming due to the low number of tests (just above 45,000) conducted, they say.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed concern that Covid is spreading fast in the state. He urged the public to stay guarded.
A public health expert, who is also a member of the state government’s Covid-19 core committee, said: “The second wave has come even before seeing off the first phase. The fresh cases coming from outside have disrupted the equilibrium we have been maintaining.” “There will be a spike if more variants reach the state. To worsen the situation, the people have not been following any Covid-appropriate behaviour,” he said.The expert said the state should increase the testing if the TPR continues to rise.
Indian Medical Association state secretary Dr Gopikumar P said: “The numbers will be higher if we increase the testing. Hospitals have seen an increase in the number of cases. The election could just be a trigger.”
The IMA has been urging the government to increase the number of tests as part of the containment strategy. Though the government claimed it would increase the tests to one lakh per day, the actual number of tests conducted has come down the 50,000-mark.
The health department plans to recommend stringent restrictions to prevent a surge but a final decision has not been taken due to elections, said an official. The slow rate of vaccination is also worrying the department as the state has a large number of susceptible population, as per the recent Sero Survey report.