With Kerala continuing to be one of the worst-affected states in India due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, medical experts have said people cannot be made to follow protocols on gunpoint and would rather need to do so themselves.
“You cannot hold a gun to people’s head and make them follow the guidelines. They need to modify their behaviour on their own,” Dr Amar Fettle, the state nodal officer for Covid-19 told news agency PTI.
Dr Fettle and another medical expert, Dr Kannan, said that the test positivity rate (TPR) in the state will witness a rise from Saturday’s 17.73 per cent as the festival season is yet to end and people are venturing out and not adhering to Covid-appropriate behaviour.
When asked if the recent relaxations were the reasons behind the increasing TPR of the state, the experts stated that easing of curbs were required as people were cooped indoors for over a year – and also because of the financial crisis.
He further told PTI that Kerala has adequate medical infrastructure and personnel in place, which can be out to maximum use if the need arrives.
Kerala health minister on Thursday urged the citizens to be more vigilant during Onam as coronavirus cases were on the rise in the state. She also mentioned that the TPR was increasing because more tests were being done. “While lives and livelihood are important, self-preservation was also important,” she added.
Echoing Dr Fettle’s view that people cannot be compelled to follow orders, Dr Kannan said that when police officers point out Covid-19 violations by shops during festive season, the latter’s reaction is that they’re ready to face legal consequences. He, however, noted that such a response was due to traders and merchants starving from loss of revenue due to lockdown and restrictions.
Dr Fettle said that when out in public, people must consider the risk being taken by health workers, who are working day-in and day-out without breaks, and even on holidays such as Onam, to care for those affected by the virus.
“The public, who escaped the virus, need to dedicate their carefulness, modify their behaviour by taking into account the health workers who are working tirelessly without holidays and the people who lost their lives or those who lost loved ones or breadwinners in the family to Covid-19,” the medical expert added.
Notably, Kerala on Sunday recorded 10,402 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the overall tally to 38,14,305. A total of 25,586 new recoveries were logged along with 66 fatalities, following which the respective tally stood at 36,31,066 and 19,494, according to the state government’s daily Covid-19 bulletin.
The daily caseload is an improvement from Saturday’s figures when 17,106 new cases were reported along with 83 fatalities. After Sunday’s changes, the active case count in the state stands at 163,212.
