With Kasaragod district showing a dangerous relapse of COVID-19 cases, Kerala has decided to urgently scale up the health infrastructure in the district. As a first step, Kasaragod Medical College Hospital in Ukkinadka, which began construction in 2018, will be made functional in quick time.
Kasaragod, with 76 confirmed cases till now, is perhaps the only district that does not have health facilities that match other parts of the state. Habitual disregard for the woes of the northernmost district has now come to haunt Kerala.
"Emergency measures have already been taken to make the hospital patient-ready," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday. Till then, patients with severe symptoms will be shifted to Pariyaram Medical College in Kannur, which will be converted into a COVID Care centre.
"The Kannur hospital has 200 beds, 40 ICU beds, and 15 ventilators," the Chief Minister said. Kasaragod Central University will be converted into a primary health centre where patients with symptoms can approach. "We have already installed testing facilities. We are waiting for the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) approval and we have taken steps to expedite the process," the Chief Minister said.
Simultaneously, the Chief Minister said the Kasaragod Medical College Hospital, too, would be converted into a COVID care centre.
Karnataka's sand block
There was yet another problem faced by the people in Kasaragod. "It is Karnataka they depend on largely for their medical needs. There are many, especially in the northern areas of Kasaragod, who daily cross over to Mangalapuram to perform dialysis and for other such emergency medical treatment," the Chief Minister said.
This is no more possible. The Karnataka government had blocked all border routes. Not even medical emergencies are allowed. "Now, Kannur does not have the capacity to absorb all the patients from Kasaragod," the Chief Minister said. To compound matters, Pariyaram Medical College has been converted into a COVID Care Centre. This has created an emergency in Kasaragod.
Given the nationwide lockdown, Karnataka's blockade is justifiable. But it is the ruthlessness with which the neighbouring state had gone ahead and shut out Kerala that has enraged the Kerala government.
It has not just closed the borders, it has sealed it with loads of sand. It had carted lorry loads of sand to block all border routes through which people from Kasaragod could access Karnataka. In certain border areas like Kootupuzha, Karnataka had filled sand even in Kerala's side of the border.
"This goes against the directives of the Centre," the Chief Minister said. He, however, said Karnataka had now agreed to remove the sand after talks were held at the level of the chief secretaries.
What citizens can do
The Chief Minister said there were areas where public cooperation was essential. "Those coming from foreign countries, especially the Gulf, and also from other parts of the country like Mumbai and Delhi should observe a compulsory quarantine period of 14 days," he said and added: "This is important for their's and the society's safety."
Also, persons who had come into contact with foreign returnees should also observe strict quarantine. The Chief Minister said that senior citizens and those with heart, kidney and liver ailments and diabetes should also strictly avoid contact with others. "Some people who carry the virus might look healthy because of their immunity. But that does not mean they could not pass on the virus. The old and the ill, therefore, should be doubly careful," he said.
The Chief Minister said any one have sore throat, fever, or breathlessness should contact the nearest Covid Care centre. "Vehicles will be arranged to pick them from homes and take them to the hospital," the Chief Minister said.
