Polls, pilgrimage cast shadow over Kerala's Covid-19 situation

The effect of local body elections and Sabarimala pilgrimage on the Covid-19 scenario of the state could be known only towards the end of December

With campaigning for the local body elections gaining momentum and Sabarimala Ayyappa temple pilgrimage beginning from Sunday, Kerala is on alert as health experts haven't ruled out the chance for a further spike in Covid-19 cases in the state.

After the Onam festival season, Kerala witnessed a steep increase in Covid-19 cases in September and October. But over the last couple of weeks, the test positivity rate (TPR) has been showing a declining trend.

The daily TPR that stood at 18.16 per cent on October 13, came down to 9.54 per cent after a gap of one month on November 12. The average TPR for the last week was 11.25 per cent.

Kerala Covid-19 taskforce member Dr. Mohammed Asheel said that even with stringent Covid protocols being prescribed for the local body elections as well as the Sabarimala pilgrimage, the chances for a further Covid spike could not be ruled out owing to the tendency of people to flout the norms. The effect of local body elections and Sabarimala pilgrimage on the Covid scenario of the state could be known only towards the end of December, he said.

Health Department sources said that despite the stringent Covid-19 protocols prescribed at Sabarimala when the temple opened for pilgrims for week-long monthly pooja in October, at least ten, including some temple staff and police personnel on duty, got infected. Hence, the norms were further tightened now by insisting on Covid-19 negative test results issued 24 hours ahead of trekking.

Elections to the 1,199 local bodies in Kerala will be held in three-phases from December 8 to 14. As many as 21,865 wards will be going to polls and campaigning by at least 60,000-odd candidates is gaining momentum. Hence, social distancing might go for a toss even with the state election commission prescribing Covid-19 protocols, health department sources pointed out.

At present, Kerala has 77,813 active Coivd patients, while the total number of infected patients so far stands at around 5.1 lakh. The highlight of Kerala's fight against Covid is the low death rate of 0.35 per cent.