Thiruvananthapuram: As the number of COVID-19 cases rises in Kerala, the state government is worried if some districts in the state are equipped with adequate medical facilities to deal with the increasing count.
The government is not sure if Kasaragod, Kannur, Malappuram and Palakkad have adequate health infrastructure to deal with the growing number of cases. Its assessment is that these four districts will be short of beds even if all the government and private hospitals are roped in and made COVID treatment centres.
If such a situation arises, patients should be taken to the neighbouring districts with available beds, a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided.
As per the latest available official figures, Palakkad has 237 COVID cases, Kannur has 157, Malappuram has 191 and Kasargod has 105.
In the past 15 days, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kollam districts have accounted for 40% of the reported cases in Kerala.
Also, about 60% of cases with contact history are from Palakkad, Malappuram, Kannur and Thrissur districts.
Kerala has reported 3,876 COVID-19 cases till Friday, of which 1,846 are still active.
The state reported 150 cases on Friday, the eighth consecutive day the daily count has exceeded 100. Palakkad reported the highest number of cases with 23. A majority of Friday’s cases — 91 — are people who returned from abroad.
Meanwhile, the four districts are likely to witness the return of expatriates in large numbers in the coming days. About 79,000 expatriates have registered for return to Malappuram; 51,000 to Kannur; 28,000 to Palakkad and 19,000 to Kasaragod.
