THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister Veena George said that the Covid expansion in the state is decreasing. In Januray the number of cases increased by 45% in the first week, 148% in the second week and 215% in the third week. But by the fourth week, it was down to 71 percent. From January 28 to February 3, it was down to10 percent. ICU and ventilator use have also decreased. Of the current 3,66,120 Covid cases, only 2.9 per cent are hospitalized. Of the patients, only 0.9 per cent needed oxygen beds and only 0.4 per cent needed ICUs, the minister said.

The minister said the Centre's reference to Covid deaths was unfortunate. Such references should not be made during the pandemic. The Health department has developed a definite plan for the Covid prevention. The ICU, ventilator, and oxygen facilities were greatly increased. Great progress has been made in vaccination. TPR is high because people with symptoms are also being tested. Kerala leads in test per million.

The state has taken a positive stance when the Supreme Court announced financial assistance to people who died due to Covid. The death rate in national level and in other states is higher than that of Kerala. The death rate in India is 1.4 percent. The death rate in Maharashtra is 1.83 per cent, in Delhi 1.41 per cent and in Karnataka 1.01 per cent. At the same time, even with the addition of deaths as per the central guidelines, the current death rate in the state is only .9 per cent. Excluding deaths happened earlier, the rate is only .5 percent. So, the Covid mortality rate in the state has never been so high.

Kerala is reporting Covid deaths very transparently. It is also the only state in India to report deaths online as per central guidelines. The Minister said that the Supreme Court has praised Kerala in this regard.