THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a press conference that the next three weeks will be crucial in the context of the spread of COVID. "The number of COVID cases reported in the country in a single day is around two and a half lakh. The death toll is close to 3700. Kerala has not reached a state of comfort. It is one of the states that has been reporting a high number of COVID cases in the country," he said.

"In Karnataka, 28,869 cases and 548 deaths were reported yesterday. Maharashtra recorded 29,911 cases and 738 deaths while Tamil Nadu recorded 35,579 cases and 397 deaths yesterday. We have been trying to prevent such a situation from the beginning. The mortality rate has been low in Kerala since we were able to slow down the spread of the disease. Hence, while the number of cases rapidly increases and decreases in other states, the process appears to be slow in Kerala," the CM said.

"Despite the declining number of cases, health experts say the death toll in Kerala is likely to rise in the coming days. May 12 saw the highest number of cases reported in the second wave. There were 43,529 new cases that day. In that way, the diseases reported on those days have worsened and the resulting deaths are occurring now. That is why, the death toll is higher than ever despite a decline in the spread of the disease," he added.