THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After lying low for a while, the coronavirus is rearing its ugly head again. The number of Covid cases in the state has recorded a significant jump, with the daily count increasing from 12 to 150 in a month. There has also been a spike in active cases — from 33 to 768 — during the period.
As per data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are a total of 768 active cases in the state as of December 10, while the national figure is 938. The cases from Kerala account for the bulk of the infections reported in the country, which experts attribute to the testing and reporting standards of the state.
According to doctors, the impact of COVID has not been felt much as it is yet to be reflected in the bed occupancy in hospitals. Also, Covid deaths are not being reported, though there could be unreported cases, they said.
However, doctors pointed out that the number of people reporting at outpatient clinics with high fever, cough, chest congestion and wheezing has been on the rise.
N C Krishnaprasad, a health department official who has been closely following Covid data since 2020, said the state has been reporting a spurt in cases from the middle of November.
No cause for panic: Doctors
“Kerala reports the most number of daily cases and active cases in the country. In recent times, the highest daily figure of 157 was reported on December 7,” Krishnaprasad said.
The state health department data shows that more than 11,700 people visited hospitals with fever on Monday, and over 170 were admitted.
“After the bout of fever or symptoms of cold, a prolonged cough with expectoration of sputum and wheezing is noticed in many cases. The withdrawal of COVID restrictions and winter have created a condition for the prevalence of various diseases. Besides Covid, infection due to Adenovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus and mycoplasma pneumonia also cause similar symptoms.
A percentage of people reporting in the OP for fever have COVID-19, though the testing remains low. There is also a possibility of multiple virus infections in a patient,” said Dr P S Shajahan, a Pulmonary Medicine professor at Government TD Medical College, Alappuzha, and vice-chair of IMA Research Cell in Kerala.
“There is no cause for panic. But the elderly and those with morbidity should wear masks in public to avoid contracting various viral infections,” he said.