The coronavirus curve of Kerala has started to flatten, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac tweeted Monday morning, claiming that active COVID-19 cases declined in the last week. Kerala has 376 coronavirus cases including 3 deaths. The third patient who died belonged to Puducherry. No death was registered last week in Kerala. On Sunday two new cases were identified while 36 patients recovered. The state has a significant number of recoveries-179-second only to Maharashtra, which is India’s worst-hit state with over 2,000 cases.
Kerala reported 357 cases a week ago, the number of fatalities remaining the same. Kerala became the first state to register a case of coronavirus in January. The curve relates to the number of new cases expected over a timeframe. Flattening the curve means averaging the number of new cases over a longer span, allowing doctors time and money to treat more people.
Experts credit Kerala with vigorous monitoring and touch tracing, effectively battling the pandemic. Amitabh Kant, the CEO of the Niti Aayog plan panel, is among those who have praised the Left-ruled state for its effective response to COVID-19. He tweeted to extend compliments to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the people of Kerala for the remarkable handling of COVID-19 pandemic. He pointed out that the number of people getting discharged every day outnumbers the new cases emerging in the state. He added that Kerala has limited the secondary spread of the infection and the state also has recorded only two deaths at 0.59 mortality rate, compared to the international mortality rate of 5.75 per cent.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will soon focus on the possibilities of an escape strategy from the lockdown. Shops have also been opened relating to the sale and repair of home appliances and mobile devices on specified days.
This is a major turnaround for the coastal state, which on January 30 declared the first case of coronavirus in India. The patient was a student who had returned from the virus ground zero — Wuhan in China. Two more students who had returned from Wuhan and were in quarantine at home tested positive by February 3.
