Kerala government has announced further restrictions as the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) still remains high in the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his customary COVID-19 press meet, said that with the increased TPR (the number of samples tested positive in a group of samples), the average TPR for the last three days is 12.1%. TPR is above 10% in 11 districts and Malappuram district has the highest TPR of 17%.
As per the new restrictions announced by the CM, the Union and state government offices, public offices, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), companies, commissions, and corporation offices in Category A and B local bodies can function with up to 50% of staff and with up to 25% capacity in Category C areas. Only essential services will operate in Category D. Areas that fall under A category are those with TPR below 5%, those under category B have TPR between 5-10%, under C, with TPR between 10-15%, and under D, with TPR above 15%.
"The remaining 50% staff A and B places and 75% in C, and officers from all sectors should be involved in COVID-19 prevention activities. District Collectors should take the initiative to give them the responsibility for the work. Since only essential services operate in the D category, the vast majority of employees will be part of the preventive measures. Areas with a high prevalence of the disease are considered clusters. At the same time, a micro-containment system will be introduced.” the CM said. The state has appointed IAS officers as special officers in five districts for the COVID-19 containment activitie
“At least 60% of the population in the community needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity to the disease. A third wave is unlikely to occur if herd immunity is achieved by strictly following the COVID-appropriate protocol. The third wave will not occur naturally. It is caused by the flaws in COVID-19 control and lapses in vaccine supply," Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The CM also said that the state has vaccinated 35.51% of the state’s population with the first dose, and 14.94% are fully vaccinated. This is higher than the national average. "In India, out of the 130 crore people, 25.52% got the first dose while 6.83% received the second dose,” he said. “So far, in Kerala, 1,77,09,529 people have been vaccinated. Of these, 1,24,64,589 received a single dose of vaccine and 52,44,940 have received both doses," the CM said.
The state reported 17,518 new COVID-19 cases with a TPR of 13.63% on July 23. Meanwhile, 132 recent deaths were confirmed as caused by COVID-19 taking the related death toll in the state to 15,871.