THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Drawing confidence from the decline in the number of serious Covid cases and increased vaccination coverage, the state government has relaxed the restrictions further by limiting lockdown to panchayats and urban wards that have a weekly infection population ratio (WIPR) of above eight.
The decision was taken at a Covid review meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday. Earlier, all wards with a WIPR of above seven were locked down. WIPR is calculated based on the weekly density of Covid patients in an area. The micro-containment zones will continue to exist in areas with high spread. The state reported 25,010 fresh cases on Friday, with a TPR of 16.53%. The day’s death count was 177.
In the media briefing later, the CM gave a picture of the Covid situation which he felt has become more manageable on the back of increased vaccination coverage. So far, 78% of the people across the state have received at least one dose. The spread of the disease is still high, but the number of people with severe infection has come down in a week, he said.
The state had 2,42,278 active cases between September 3 and 9. However only 13% of them are under treatment in hospitals, domiciliary care centres and other Covid treatment centres, he said. Only 2% of the patients required oxygen beds and 1% needed ICU beds, the CM said. A total of 1,87,561 new cases were detected during the period, 21,000 less compared to the previous week. The CM stressed that vaccine efficacy prevented patients from becoming serious though the numbers went up.
RT-PCR made standard test
According to the CM, more than 95% of the people who died of Covid were not vaccinated.“It has been found that vaccines reduce severity, even among those with comorbidities. Only those with more than two comorbidities died of Covid after taking the vaccine,” said Pinarayi. The meeting also decided to use RT-PCR as the standard test for Covid across the state and limit the use of antigen only to the requirements of hospital treatment.
The decision was taken on the back of the increased vaccination coverage in the state, said the chief minister. Earlier, RT-PCR testing strategy was limited to six districts which had given at least one dose to around 80% of the population. The CM said plans are afoot to reopen schools and colleges at a stage when there is no need to fear about the virus spread. He also promised to intervene in activating trade and industrial sectors. “We cannot ignore the threats raised by Covid. But we can go ahead and survive only by following the precautions,” he said.
RT-PCR made standard test across the state
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