Thiruvananthapuram: Amid the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kerala's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic turned two years on Sunday.
The second anniversary came at a time when we were reeling under the spell of an unexpected Omicron attack. But the only hope is in the official projection that the pandemic attack will die down by the second week of February.
However, the never ending list of COVID deaths has proved as hollow the official claims about success of various COVID containment measures.
Country's first case from Thrissur
It was on January 30, 2020 when a third-year medical student from Wuhan university in China tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the country's first COVID-19 patient, days after she had returned to her home in Kerala's Thrissur district following semester holidays. At the time, even our country knew very little about the dreaded virus that originated from China.
By the time the family which came to Kerala from Italy was confirmed with the disease, "coronavirus" had started spreading all over the world with the new name 'COVID-19'.
Since then, the country has battled three waves of COVID-19 and its seven mutated variants, many of which turned out to be lethal.
According to the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia INSACOG, there are seven variants of concern that have been identified in the last two years in India Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.3, AY series and Omicron. Of these, Delta and Omicron variants have been found to be the most dangerous with the former driving the second wave of COVID-19 while the latter is behind the ongoing third wave.
Kerala's fight against COVID-19
In the beginning, Kerala was also lauded for the proper enforcement of house quarantine of NRIs and preparation of the list of primary contacts of the infected persons.
Soon, masks, hotspots, lockdowns and sanitisers became part of our daily life. But the disregard for maintaining COVID protocols many times in the ensuing period, especially during Onam, local body polls and Assembly polls, made us continue to suffer the ill-effects of COVID.
The discharge from the hospital of the COVID-stricken couple, 93-year-old Thomas and 88-year-old Mariyamma, hailing from Ranni in Pathanamthitta district, after recovery boosted the confidence of Malayalis.
However, the government's claim that there were less deaths due to COVID continued to prove hollow. Thousands of deaths were added to the official list from time to time. Now, Kerala with above 53,000 deaths stands second to Maharashtra in COVID deaths. In addition, almost 100 hapless people, who lost all hopes, committed suicide in those dark days of heavy mental stress and financial pain inflicted by the COVID situation.
100% vaccination
Meanwhile, Kerala managed to administer the first dose of vaccines to cent per cent of people and the second dose to 84 per cent of people, above the age of 18 years. But when we were thinking that COVID worries would be completely over by December, Omicron came to the picture. We didn't bother much about the variant on the first few days, leading to the fast spread of Omicron.
But, the Omicron attack on most of the people was mild, giving us the much needed relief. But since the spread of the pandemic is going on unabated, strict containment measures have now been enforced in 13 districts.
On the second anniversary of the coming of the disease to Kerala, the main solace for us is the new official projection that there is a dip in the growth rate of the pandemic now.
When will it end?
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said irrespective of the Covid variants, 'Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and Adherence to Covid-Appropriate Behaviour' will continue to remain the tested strategy for Covid management.
Healthcare specialists too have advised that following Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination remains the best possible solution to tackling coronavirus variants.
But there is no clarity about when the pandemic will finally become endemic in India.
"We are still in the midst of the pandemic and the focus should be on curtailing the virus spread and save lives," Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region told PTI when asked if the pandemic is entering the endemic stage in India.
Even if it becomes endemic, it doesn't mean that the virus will not be a cause of concern, she added.
When noted virologist Dr T Jacob John was asked about how the pandemic is expected to progress, he said it is generally seen that the new (emerged) pathogens get adapted to human hosts and in the process (hopefully) tend to become more infectious and less pathogenic - within limits.
However, what the future holds is not clear, he said.
"So, what can we expect....' is a good question with no good answer. We shall see as the pandemic progresses," John had told PTI.
(With PTI inputs)
