Visitors wear masks at the Ernakulam Government Hospital after rise in number of COVID cases, in Kochi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Even as a high-level meeting convened by Kerala health minister Veena George on Tuesday to review the Covid-19 situation came out with an advisory that masks mandatory at hospitals and among the high-risk groups, public health experts, including those associated with the state government, are suggesting use of masks by all at public places owing to spread of Covid-19 in the state.
As per the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, of the 1,970 Covid active cases in the country on Tuesday, 1,749 are in Kerala, which comes to 89 per cent. As many as 115 fresh cases were detected in the state on Monday. A new variant, JN.1, was also confirmed in the state recently.
Veena George said there is only a 'slight' increase in Covid-19 cases and there is no need for concern. Hospital staff, those visiting hospitals, those with serious ailments and pregnant women should wear masks, she said in a statement after the high-level meeting.
The meeting also decided to conduct Covid-19 tests only on symptomatic patients, which seems to be an effort to keep the number of positive cases low, sources said.
The health minister also said 1,957 oxygen beds, 2,454 ICU beds and 937 ICU ventilators are kept ready. An online mock drill involving 1,192 government and private hospitals was also done between December 13 and 16, the minister added.
Public health experts cite the higher population density, large number of elderly persons, ongoing Sabarimala pilgrimage, upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays and many political gatherings as well as agitations as high-risk factors.
B Ekbal, a public health expert, who is also the chairperson of the Covid Expert Committee of the Kerala government suggested in a social media post on Tuesday that everyone should wear masks in public places. "Even as the virulence of the new variant may be comparatively low, around 20% of persons may develop post Covid-19 symptoms. Hence, everyone must wear masks, especially in closed spaces," he said.
Meanwhile, the Congress has been alleging that the CPM government was trying to downplay the Covid-19 situation due to its mass outreach programme 'Nava Kerala Sadas' that will come to an end only on December 23.