Kerala CM cautions about COVID-19 situation in State; calls for imposing more restrictions

As India continues to reel under the second wave COVID-19 pandemic, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan while addressing a press briefing on Wednesday cautioned that the state is facing a very serious situation as the Coronavirus infection is spreading rapidly. Stating that Kerala is going through a serious situation due to the pandemic, the Chief Minister informed that the test positivity rate is not coming down.

Informing that Kerala recorded its highest single-day rise of 41,953 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday from 1,63,321 samples tested, Pinarayi Vijayan said, "The current situation calls for imposing more restrictions in the state."

'COVID-19 situation is getting serious'

CM Vijayan said, "The All figures are increasing and the test positivity rate is not reducing either. In these circumstances, we need to strengthen the restrictions. As the number of Covid patients increases by the day, the need for oxygen has also increased. Oxygen stock is decreasing very rapidly. In this scenario, we need the Centre's help in maintaining adequate stock of oxygen. I have requested the Prime Minister to provide 1,000 MT of imported liquefied medical oxygen to the State."

Giving out a broader picture about the status of ICU, ventilator and oxygen beds in the state, CM Vijayan informed that there are 2,857 ICU beds in government hospitals across the state. He said, "Out of these 2,857 beds, 996 beds are being used for the treatment of COVID patients and 756 beds for non-COVID patients." Stating that currently, about 38.7 per cent of the ICU beds in the government hospitals are still available, he said that in private hospitals, there are 7,085 ICU beds and currently, 1,037beds are being used for Covid patients.

Current COVID-19 situation in Kerala

As India continues to battle against the pandemic, Kerala so far has recorded over 17,01,979 positive COVID-19 cases, out of which, 13,39,257 have successfully recovered and 5,507 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 37,190 new cases, 26,148 fresh recoveries, and 57 deaths have been reported. Currently, the total number of active Coronavirus cases in the state is 3,57,215. 

(Image: PTI)