TN and K’taka raise curbs at Kerala border
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Asa surge in Covid-19 cases continues in Kerala, with more than 100,000 cases over the last five days, neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have restricted the entry of travellers from the state. Winding queues are visible at border checkpoints as both states tighten security measures.
Nearly one in every two new Covid-19 infections recorded in India over the past week have come from Kerala, defying the national trend of falling infections since the decline of the country’s brutal second wave of infections.
On Sunday, Kerala recorded 20,728 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the caseload to 3,411,489, while 56 new deaths took the toll to 16,837.
The coastal state’s test positivity rate (TPR) also remained high at 12.14%, while the national average is 2.34%.
According to the data released by the state health ministry, active cases also surged to 167,379, accounting for more than onethird of the active cases of the country.
Amid the surge, the Tamil Nadu government on Sunday announced a special surveillance measure, mandating a negative RT-PCR certificate for people arriving to the state from Kerala from August 5.
Till Sunday, Tamil Nadu’s tally stood at 2,561,587 with 1,990 new cases, while the toll reached 26 with 34,102 fresh fatalities.
Earlier, the Karnataka government also issued an order, mandating a negative RT-PCR certificate for those arriving from Kerala and Maharashtra.
Karnataka on Sunday logged 1,875 new cases, taking its tally to 2,906,999. The state recorded 25 deaths on Sunday.
According to the data released from the state health ministry, in at least four Kerala districts, the reproduction number (R value) is above 1.2%. R value is an indicator on how quickly the infection is spreading and gives a clear picture on how many people on an average get infected from a Covid-19 patient.
“The latest sero survey shows at least 50 per cent of the population is vulnerable. We have noticed the presence of new Delta variants in different parts of the state,” said Kerala health minister Veena George, adding that the government is also planning to redraw its strategies as the next three weeks are crucial.
Meanwhile, as frequent lockdowns cripple normal lives, the government is planning to focus on micro-containment zones and allow shops and business establishments to function as usual. A majority of the shops open alternately, while there is a complete lockdown on weekends. An expert panel from the Centre for Disease Control visited some of the worstaffected districts in north Kerala and has asked health officials to tighten curbs only in micro-containment zones.