KOCHI: One of the biggest achievements of the state government in the battle against Covid-19 so far has been in keeping the mortality rate relatively low in Kerala. However, with the second wave of the pandemic, the number of fatalities has been rising steadily in several districts, with deaths reported even among the youth, raising serious concerns.Over 5,500 people have died of Covid-19 so far in Kerala, as per official records. The number may be even higher if the unreported deaths are also to be taken into account. Keeping the mortality rate low will be a challenge for the state in the coming days.
Among the districts, Thiruvananthapuram has reported the highest number of Covid fatalities in two weeks, with 114 deaths. Kozhikode and Thrissur are in the second and third places, with 92 and 82 deaths, respectively. It has been only a week since the number of fatalities in Thrissur has started going up. As per the official data, 21 deaths were reported in Thrissur district on Saturday alone.
“The second wave of Covid-19 and the advent of multiple virus variants have posed a daunting challenge to the health sector in the state. Across the country, we are witnessing horror and tragedy, with deaths resulting due to lack of oxygen support and timely treatment being reported.
The situation is frightening. We are trying as much as possible to make the beds available for those in need. The number of deaths is expected to increase, but we hope that the situation in this regard will not be as alarming as when compared to other Indian states,” said an official with the state’s Covid-19 task force.
At present, the fatality rate of the state stands at 0.32 per cent. Thiruvananthapuram district has the highest fatality rate, district wise, at 0.66 per cent. Mostly, the deaths have been reported among those above the age of 60 years with comorbidities.
As many as 4,151 people in the age group of above 60 years have died, while 1,148 and 195 people in the 41-59 and 18-40 year age groups have also died, respectively, so far. Recently, the number of deaths among those in the 18-40 age group has started slowly going up. In a week, 12 persons between 18 and 35 years died due to Covid in the state.
“The proportion of the mutated virus has increased all over the country in this second wave. In addition, we have vaccinated a significant proportion of our elderly population with at least one dose. Also, super spreader events like large political rallies were also more likely to have younger people infected. All these could have contributed to this present situation, where we see complications and death occurring among those under 50 years of age,” said Dr Anup R Warrier, infectious disease expert.
“Early identification of susceptible patients by tele-triaging at home and identifying triggers for deterioration in admitted patients can help keep the situation under control. Evidence-based medical management and effective nursing care for prevention of secondary infections are the key to keep the number of fatalities low,” he added.