Thiruvananthapuram : With the third wave of Covid-19 now here, Kerala has to exert added caution, said Health Minister KK Shailaja. The current phase is more difficult than the two we overcame. As there erupt big surges in countries around the world and several regions in our own country, people arriving in increasing number from these places make situation in the state worrisome, said the minister in her article in Deshabhimani.
The competency of our public health systems and meticulous strategies stood our state out as role model to rest of the world. Even so, the third wave of Covid-19 infections could be more challenging than ever. This time, we stay focused on those likely to catch the infection and people who seem unlikely to survive it.
A broad scheme known as ‘Reverse Quarantine” is on the anvil. As part of the plan, arrangements are being made to fully shield the elderly citizens, people with pre-existing medical conditions, pregnant women and children from contact with those arriving from virus-hit locations. The control rooms are monitoring areas, influx and transits for this purpose on daily basis.
Doorstep deliveries of medicines to people by NCC wing under the Health Department helped thwart what would otherwise have been a major crisis in lockdown conditions. Programs like Tele Medicine rolled out with support from police, fire force and organisations like IA, went a long way toward this relief.
The virus is here to stay for a long time. WHO too confirmed we’d have to co-exist with Covid-19. Until the time when a vaccine or cure is found, each of us should to remember to lead a restrictive life even as we go about our activities and livelihoods. Campaigns like “Break The Chain” should be popularized so links to virus-spread are disrupted.
Incidentally, a handful of people are creating ruckus around slight and all-too-natural lapses. Such disruptions could disastrous. Preparations are in place to deal with the third wave of infections. We must lend support to the hundreds of fellow-beings on the frontlines of this fight against the virus. And, we shall collectively pitch in so no life among is lost to the virus.
Now with people arriving from places hard-hit by the virus, the general population is more prone to risks of the infection. Continued rise in Covid-19 cases and related deaths in other states also adds to the anxiety. Nevertheless, it is imperative that we receive all Malayalis, regardless of their locations, when they choose to return here. At the same time, unchecked arrival by random vehicles and through porous passages will lead to dire consequences for everybody.
This is why certain curbs and criterion are put in place for arrivals into the state. There are restrictions to the number of people arriving by air, sea and land each day. And, according to the level of screening and maximum number of persons who can be checked for, filter teams comprising police personnel, revenue staff and volunteers are deployed at the entry points.
Given that entry passes allow the screening teams to plan for the day’s influx, everybody should comprehend the dangers if thousands were to throng through borders without valid passes.
We might then, whatever the number of care providers roped in, have pitfalls in monitoring thousands of home-quarantined people while simultaneously caring for large number of non-corona patients across the state, the minister said.
