With COVID-19 cases rising in Kerala, adequate steps should be taken to contain the inter-state spread of the infection, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday as he urged Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to increase the pace of vaccination in border districts. In a telephonic conversation on Wednesday with the Health Ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Mandaviya reviewed the COVID-19 situation in these states, a Health Ministry statement said.
Due to the rising cases in Kerala, the Union Health Minister discussed matters related to COVID-19 management in those areas of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which border Kerala. Highlighting the need to take adequate steps to contain the inter-state spread of COVID-19, Mandaviya requested the respective Health Ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to increase the pace of vaccination in the districts bordering Kerala, the statement said.
"The Government of India has been at the forefront of the fight against the COVID19 pandemic. Vaccination forms an integral component of the five-point strategy to fight the pandemic (including Test, Track, Treat and COVID Appropriate Behaviour)," the statement added.
Kerala on Wednesday recorded yet another number of high COVID-19 cases with 32,803 people testing positive from 1.74 lakh samples tested in the latest 24-hour period, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement. The test positivity rate was 18.76%. The latest 24-hour period also saw 21,610 people test negative, taking the total number of active cases to 2.29 lakh, while there were 173 fresh deaths, taking the death toll to 20,961.
Thrissur recorded 4,425 cases, followed by Ernakulam with 4,324. On Tuesday also the state saw over 30,000 new cases but state Health Minister Veena George said that things have not gone out of hand and as the expert committee have opined that the situation will stabilise after September 10.