The second wave of Covid driven by the Delta variant was deadly in India, and several states faced various issues like the lack of oxygen supply and availability of in-patient beds. To avoid further chaos, most of the states in India are preparing themselves to combat the wrath of a third wave that could hit the country soon. However, the situation in Kerala seems grim, as the second wave of the pandemic has not waned in this southern state, or the third wave might have already begun in the region. In the last 24 hours, the state witnessed 32,097 fresh cases and 188 Covid-related deaths.
Rising TPR adds up to the worries
On September 02, the daily test positivity rate (TPR) in the state stands at 18.41 percent, a figure that is much higher than the national average. It should be also noted that Kerala now contributes to nearly 70 percent of the daily Covid cases in India.
Recently, Dr Samiran Panda, head of epidemiology and communicable disease in the Indian Council of Medical Research has revealed that the situation in Kerala is an early warning signal. The medical expert also pointed out that the pattern which is seen in Kerala; a drop, a lull, and again a surge clearly indicates the fact that the third wave of the pandemic could have been begun in the state.
Is Kerala becoming the victim of initial success in the Covid battle?
Recently, several medical experts had suggested that the lift in lockdown restrictions during the time of Onam and Bakrid was the reason behind this drastic surge in Covid cases in Kerala. However, large gatherings have happened in other states of India as well, but the number of fresh coronavirus cases has not risen in those regions.
According to medical experts, the current situation in Kerala is the result of the state's success in preventing the spread of the Covid pandemic during the first wave.
"Kerala is a victim of its own success. It did not allow the virus to party in its state like the virus did in Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh," said epidemiologist and physician Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, Scroll.in reports.
Even though the drastic spread of coronavirus in other Indian states during the first and the second wave of the pandemic shattered the healthcare infrastructure, it helped people in these regions to gain immunity. On the other hand, Kerala initially succeeded in controlling the spread of the pandemic, but it made the people in the state vulnerable to future waves of the pandemic.
