New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the number of fresh COVID-19 cases and daily deaths from the disease are reducing across the country, the situation in Kerala is the exact opposite, according to the Union Health Ministry.
Not even a single COVID-19 death was reported in 15 states and Union Territories on Monday. But of the 78 deaths reported across the country, 16 are in Kerala; 20.51 per cent.
Only 15 deaths were reported in Maharashtra, where the total number of deaths has crossed 50,000 so far since the outbreak of the viral pandemic a year ago.
However, 35 deaths were reported in Maharashtra on Tuesday, while 19 deaths were reported in Kerala on the same day.
Of the total number of people under treatment for COVID-19 in the country, 45.72 per cent is in Kerala.
The total number of people under treatment in the country as of Monday is 1,43,625. Of this 65,670 are in Kerala and 35,991 in Maharashtra. About 71 per cent of the patients across the country are in these two states.
No COVID-19 deaths were reported in Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Andaman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Lakshadweep for the past three weeks.
A decline of 55 per cent was noted in the daily fatality rate in the country in the last one month.
5,214 cases in Kerala on Tuesday
A total of 5,214 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the state on Tuesday. Of this, 4,788 people got infected through contact while the source of infection could not be traced in 336 cases. Sixty-one people, who came from outside the state, and 29 health workers tested positive. After 69,844 samples were tested, the test positivity rate is at 7.47 per cent.
The test results of 6,475 people under treatment were negative, while 1,179 were admitted to the hospital on Tuesday.
The total number of deaths so far is at 3,902 after counting the 19 fatalities reported on Tuesday.
District-wise COVID-19 cases:
Ernakulam - 615, Kollam - 586, Kottayam - 555, Thrissur - 498, Pathanamthitta - 496, Kozhikode – 477, Thiruvananthapuram - 455, Malappuram - 449, Alappuzha - 338, Kannur - 273, Palakkad -186, Kasaragod - 112, Idukki - 100, and Wayanad –74.
RT-PCR rate increased to Rs 1,700
The rate for RT-PCR tests has been revised to Rs 1,700 at private labs in Keerala. The earlier rate was Rs 1,500. Health Minister K K Shailaja said that the rate was revised as per the directives of the Kerala High Court.
The rates for all other tests would be the same as earlier: Xpert NAT - Rs 2,500, True-Nat- Rs 1500, RT-LAMP - Rs 1150, and antigen test - Rs 300.
Vaccine: No serious side-effects reported
Around 66 per cent of the health workers, who took the COVID-19 vaccine, suffered from fever, body pain and fatigue, according to a study. These symptoms were reported in 74 per of the women and 58.6 per cent of youngsters. No serious health issues were reported for anyone.
About 20 per cent of the people, who were inoculated, however found it difficult to carry out their routine tasks the next day. This was reported mostly among women. But 33 per cent did not have any unusual symptoms.
The study conducted for 947 people, aged above 60, also did not find any adverse side-effects for anyone.
These findings were made during a survey of 5,000 people, who were inoculated. The survey was conducted by Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, Dr Ramesh Shenoy, and M S Anitha.
Negative certificates for Keralite students in Karnataka
Meanwhile, Keralite students, heading to five Karnataka districts, need to mandatorily submit the COVID-19 negative certificates issued in the preceding 72 hours.
This has been made mandatory for five districts that share border with Kerala: Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Udupi, Kodagu and Chamarajanagar.
The health department has also instructed the educational institutions to arrange for online classes for Keralite students so that they can avoid travel.
