With 42,766 people testing positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, India’s active cases rose to 410,048 accounting for 1.24 per cent of total cases. Of the fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours, Kerala reported 26,701 new Covid-19 cases and 74 deaths in the last 24 hours. As per the office of the state health minister on Sunday, the total death toll mounted to 21,496 and the active caseload stands at 2,47,791.
Earlier, on Saturday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a press conference after holding a meeting to review the state’s Covid-19 situation, confirmed that the state will continue with its night curfew and Sunday lockdowns. Only essential services were allowed in the state as police carried out strict enforcement of lockdown rules.
Vijayan said that the post-Onam increase in the number of Covid-19 cases was not as high as was anticipated. Stating that Kerala is facing a severe shortage of vaccine doses in some places, Vijayan stated that as informed by the Centre, the state is scheduled to receive 9,97,570 doses on Sunday.
Vijayan said, “We are facing a severe shortage of vaccine doses in some places in the state. The Centre has informed us that we will receive 9,97,570 doses of vaccine on Sunday.”
The Kerala Chief Minister stated that with COVID-19 vaccination “progressing at a great pace”, the state government is hoping to achieve herd immunity soon.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘Herd immunity’, also known as ‘population immunity’, is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through the previous infection. WHO supports achieving ‘herd immunity’ through vaccination, not by allowing disease to spread through any segment of the population, as this would result in unnecessary cases and deaths.
Herd immunity against Covid-19 should be achieved by protecting people through vaccination, not by exposing them to the pathogen that causes the disease.
Vijayan further stated, “Health experts have opined that considering all these reasons the recent surge in covid cases in Kerala should not be very worrying. The government held a discussion with health experts at the national and international level to assess the covid situation in Kerala.”
Vijayan said that the Kerala government has decided to form neighborhood watch committees with government employees, volunteers, and residents association as members. If anyone breaks quarantine rules they will be fined and will also be kept in paid quarantine centers, he added. He also said that police services will be used to ensure that Covid-19 positive people are staying in quarantine at their homes.
He further said that a case will be registered against those violating quarantine rules, adding that police motorcycle teams will be deputed to keep a check.
Meanwhile, as many as 30 fresh Covid infections were reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours, according to the health bulletin of the Delhi government Sunday. The cumulative caseload has reached 14,37,959 including 33 recoveries in the 24-hour period.
According to the health bulletin on Sunday, no new death was recorded for the fifth consecutive day. The death toll stands at 25,082. A total of 14,12,526 people have been recovered from the disease so far.
The Covid positivity rate in Delhi was recorded at 0.05 per cent and the case fatality rate at 1.74 per cent.