Ovid: Lessons from erala’s experience

any held Kerala up as a national and global example on how to manage Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. But, as a id-19 column this newspaper ran for a little over ar pointed out, this was more smart PR than thing else. Now, Kerala accounts for 68% of es (in terms of the seven-day daily case average August 30). There are multiple theories about at’s happening in the state with the best social elopment indicators in India. Based on istical and scientific evidence, it can be safely mised that Kerala’s crisis is caused by a mutant in of the original virus, and an extremely poor tainment and home quarantine policy. s evident from Delhi’s experience during the k of the country’s second wave, a localised down, stringent restrictions, and an effective tainment policy are all that are needed to rply reduce the number of cases. If Kerala is ble to do so, it is because the state doesn’t have quate restrictions; it is ineffective at monitoring n what restrictions are in place; and people are self-isolating when they test positive. As India ns up even more, and as many states reopen ools, it is important that everyone learn from ala’s experience. If there is a silver lining, it’s ala’s case fatality rate, which stands at 0.5% in parison to the country’s 1.3%. Clearly, the state’s erior quality of public health care has helped — ther lesson for other states. A good public lth care system can lessen the impact of even an