KOCHI: There is a 30% increase in daily Covid cases now compared to last week in Kerala. The test positivity rate (TPR ) has touched 5%. TPR captures the size of the epidemic and the scale of testing, and TPR below 5% suggests that the infection is under control.
Worse still, there has been a sharp increase in new Covid cases —of almost 60%— in the last two days. The state reported 468 Covid cases on May 23, 747 on May 24 and 783 cases on May 25.
“Although there are no large-scale admissions to hospitals with Covid at this time, we are hearing about people coming down with fever in clusters. Without extensive testing, it would not be possible to detect outbreaks early. Antigen tests are not sensitive to Omicron, which means the test could be negative in a significant number of Covid cases. It is important to trace and test systematically to correctly identify clusters with a lookout for new variants,” said Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, vice-chairman, research cell, IMA Kerala.
Emphasizing the importance of testing, Dr Jayadevan said that South Africa found out about the Omicron variant last year only because they went after it and were able to sound a warning to the world.
“New Omicron variants BA4 and BA5 will mainly infect people who didn’t get infected during the third wave. Our recent study shows that almost 40% people believe that they were not infected in the Omicron wave. But because of immune evasion, they can also infect those who had prior Omicron infection. This happens especially among those who mingle without precautions and thus have greater exposure to virus loads,” added Dr Jayadevan.
Health experts expressed concern that a majority of the population are now not following SMS —social distancing, masks and sanitizers. “Cases are showing an increasing trend though the number of admissions is not. But this is not the time to let our guard down as Kerala has a high vulnerable population,” said state health department’s NC Krishnaprasad, who has compiled data on Covid deaths published by various state health departments and the ministry of health and family welfare.
“We need to stop believing and behaving as if Covid is over. Even now, every day, we get Covid patients who need hospitalization,” added Dr M I Sahadulla, chairman and managing director, KIMS Healthcare Group and president, Association of Healthcare Providers India (Kerala chapter).
