Highlights
- The first COVID case was reported in Kerala on January 30, 2020
- Kerala has COVID-19 mortality rate of 0.4 per cent
- Kerala has launched Back to Basics campaign to fight COVID-19
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s COVID-19 management strategy saved a large number of lives as it delayed the peak of the epidemic and gave time to improve the health care system of the state, said Health Minister KK Shailaja on Saturday (January 30). The minister launched the Health Department’s ‘Back to Basics’ campaign on Saturday here, a year after the first COVID case was reported in Kerala on January 30, 2020. Talking about the campaign she said the aim of Back to Basics is to educate the public about the importance of following COVID-19 related protocols and reducing disease transmission.
It’s been a year since we have been struggling with COVID-19. But we can say we’re in a safe position. There’s a bit of increase in cases in Kerala but the mortality rate is 0.4 per cent. We’re still following the strict ‘trace, isolate and treat’ strategy, she said.
Ms Shailaja said Kerala can say it saved more lives at a lesser cost, by following a ‘very good’ strategy from the starting stage itself.
We can say we saved more lives at a lesser cost. When the COVID-19 patients came from other hot spots during the lifting of the lockdown, it was very different to trace the patients, but we continued doing that. I think we have succeeded in limiting the spread of the virus. The peak occurred in Kerala later even though the pandemic occurred in Kerala first. We tried to delay the peak by applying the ‘trace, isolate and treat strategy and also break the chain, she added.
The Health Minister said that the delayed peak of pandemic gave time to the state to improve the health care system.
During that period we were able to strengthen our health care system, and because of that we never saw the full occupancy of our ventilators. Our ICUs were also occupied below 50 per cent during this time. Our hospitals were never flooded with patients because of our planning. We mobilised more human resources to fight against the pandemic, she stated.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.
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