With over 1800 cases of COVID-19 being reported in Kerala on April 9, Saturday, Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kottayam districts are under the government’s eye as the three districts reported the majority of these cases. A high level committee meeting chaired by Health Minister Veena George assessed the Covid-19 situation on Saturday. The minister said that the priority is to protect the elderly and bed-ridden people from the disease while reasserting that the wearing of masks is mandatory for pregnant women, elderly people and those who have lifestyle diseases.
“Covid-19 resulted deaths are reported mostly in people above 60 and those who have lifestyle diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. 85 % of deaths have been reported in people above 60 while the rest 15 % had severe comorbidities. Five Covid-19 deaths were reported in those who did not step out of the house, hence bed-ridden and elderly people should be given special care. Those who go out should be extra careful and wear masks if they have such people at home. The people who go out should not mingle with bedridden or elderly people without washing hands using soap,” the minister said in a statement.
The Covid-19 cases in the country have risen to 32,814 on Sunday, April 9 with 5,357 new Covid-19 infections. Veena George further suggested it is advisable for everyone to wear a mask while in a crowd.
“Hands should be cleaned frequently using sanitizer or soap. Those who have diabetes, high blood pressure and other life-style diseases, elderly people and pregnant women should wear masks. They should get tested if they have Covid-19 symptoms. Wearing masks is compulsory in hospitals,” the minister said. The state earlier had made masks mandatory for people with comorbidities, pregnant women, children and the elderly.
The minister directed to continue assessing the situation in every district and to set up the infrastructure at hospitals with the increase in the number of cases. “The state reported a total of 1801 cases on April 8 Saturday with Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kottayam districts reporting the highest number of cases. In the tests it has been found that most of the cases were the variant Omicron. The availability of oxygen should be ensured. A separate meeting of private hospitals will be convened. Special monitoring should be done for those who are in care homes, bed ridden patients and in the tribal regions. As of now only 1.2% of people needed ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds and oxygen beds were needed for only 0.8 % people,” the minister added.