KOCHI/T’PURAM: With the number of active Covid cases in the state crossing the 1.5 lakh-mark on Thursday and thousands more likely to contract the virus in the coming days, the state government is taking up spaces in schools, public halls and facilities adjacent to places of worship anticipating shortage of beds in hospitals.
In Ernakulam district alone, 11 domiciliary care centres (DCCs) started functioning on Thursday. District Collector S Suhas said five Covid First Line Treatment Centres (CFLTCs) will also be set up in Kochi Corporation limits. As of now, nine CFLTCs are functioning in the district.
In Thiruvananthapuram, two new CFLTCs will be opened immediately — one each in Peroorkada and Poojapura. Ernakulam has been witnessing an alarming spike in the number of fresh cases. On Thursday, 4,396 new cases were reported, which was high among all districts. The state saw an all-time high of 26,995 cases with the test positivity rate too scaling to a new high of 19.97%. On Wednesday, the fresh cases and infection rate were 22,414 and 18.41% respectively.
Thiruvananthapuram reported 2,283 new cases on Thursday, taking the active case load in the capital district past 10,000. “We have identified buildings suitable for CFLTCs. A final decision will be taken on Monday,” said an officer. There are 2,249 CFLTCs and DCCs now.
The decision has been to open at least one CFLTC in each taluk. Some of the spaces taken over by Ernakulam district administration for setting up CFLTCs include Santhigiri Ashramam, Edathala, Pandit Karuppan Memorial hall, Edakochi, Tagore hall, Thuravoor.