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Kerala in third phase of virus transmission, next is community spread

The two active clusters in the district are Chellanam, a coastal village and Aluva

Kerala reported the highest single-day spike of 608 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and the most worrying factor is that among them, 396 fresh cases are locally transmitted.

With the rapidly escalating rate of local transmission, Kerala is on the verge of community spread of virus. Though the state could effectively manage the virus transmission, when it began in January end and could flatten the transmission curve by May, the trend started to reverse with the huge inflow of expatriates from outside.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan while talking to media persons indicated chances for community spread and stressed the need to step up control measures.

“The state is in the third stage of virus transmission in which virus spread is centered in some clusters. The next phase is community spread. Clusters have been formed in few districts like Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram. A small percentage of people are following careless attitude towards virus control and prevention measures. Carelessness is one of the major reasons for the increasing rate of local spread. Hence we should be more vigilant,” said Pinarayi Vijayan.

The health authorities are focusing on control and prevention measures along the coastal areas in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Malappuram where active clusters of disease spread have been formed.

Super spreading of the virus has been reported from Poonthura, a coastal village in Thiruvananthapuram where strict containment measures are taken.
In Ernakulam, the first cluster was Ernakulam market where the situation has improved now. The two active clusters in the district are Chellanam, a coastal village and Aluva.

Since July 10, the number of new cases has gone beyond 400-mark and the highest single-day spike reported on Tuesday. The number of locally transmitted cases was only 38 on July 5 while it reached an alarming 396 on July 14.

However, the state still has a low mortality rate and high recovery rate. The death toll due to virus infection is 34 while the number of recovered patients is 4438. There are 4454 active cases in the state.

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