ICU and ventilator occupancy as well as hospitalisations continued to rise even as the State logged 30,203 new on Tuesday, when 1,60,152 samples were tested in the past 24 hours. The test positivity rate was 18.86%.
The COVID-19 graph in the State had risen from a plateau of 20,000 plus cases daily to a new high of 30,000 to 32,000 cases in the space of one week post Onam, between August 21 and 28.
While these are early days, the case graph now seems to be stabilising again at 30,000 to 32,000 cases daily.
The current surge in ICU and ventilator occupancy is a reflection of the increase in cases during the August 21-28 period. If the graph again plateaued, the rising trend in ICU and ventilator occupancy would also stabilise, but at a higher baseline than earlier.
The current phase of the pandemic in the State was essentially a wait-and-watch period, when the State’s policies ahead would be guided by the transmission dynamics.
A further rise in the case graph could put much pressure on the health system. However, even if the daily cases went up by another 10,000, the State should be able to manage the ICU-ventilator situation as capacity had been increased after the second wave, according to sources.
The ICU occupancy of COVID patients went up from 2,312 on Monday to 2,336 on Tuesday, while the number of patients requiring ventilator support went up from 984 to 1,002.
The State’s active case pool rose to 2,18,892, while 20,687 patients recovered on Tuesday.
The cumulative fatality now stands at 20,788 with the State adding 115 deaths, most of which occurred in the past few days, to the toll on Tuesday.
The number of patients in the State newly admitted to hospitals with COVID was 2,698, while the total hospitalisations of those with moderate or severe infections rose to 31,707.
The cumulative case burden now stands at 40,57,233 cases.
Among the districts, Malappuram reported the highest number of new cases with 3,576 cases followed by Ernakulam 2,548, Kollam 3,188, Kozhikode 3,066, Thrissur 2,806, Palakkad 2,672, Thiruvananthapuram 1,980, Kottayam 1,938, Kannur 1,927, Alappuzha 1,833, Pathanamthitta 1251, Wayanad 1,044, Idukki 906, and Kasaragod 468 cases.
