The Indian Medical Association has written to the Kerala government to declare a ‘health emergency’ in the state due to an alarming rise in COVID-19 infections. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that Kerala would see 15,000 cases per day by mid-October, and warned stringent action against safety protocol violators.
“The government should ensure that the public is strictly following safety measures such as washing hands, using sanitiser, wearing masks and practicing physical distancing, as it is key to prevent contact transmission,” the letter reads.
“Declaring a health emergency would help the public grasp the gravity of the situation and ensure that they practice more caution. It would also help implement stricter restrictions to curb contact transmission and start preparatory measures to expand infrastructure to handle more cases,” says Dr P Gopikumar, Secretary of IMA Thiruvananthapuram.
The letter also gives 6 pointers to curb community spread in Kerala.
More testing
The first recommendation is to test more people. The letter recommends one lakh tests be done per day.
“Currently, we are getting 5,000-6,000 positive cases by testing 50,000 people. This is high. If we take it to one lakh, we might get 10,000-15,000 cases. Not ramping up testing means that there are thousands who have COVID-19 but could be spreading infection in the community as they are unaware. The best way forward is to identify, test and isolate more,” Dr Gopikumar added.
Strict COVID-19 rules
IMA asks the state to ban all public and social gathering and only permit people to step out of their houses for work and purchasing essential goods.
“People should be asked to avoid meeting friends and relatives as most contact cases happen this way. Relatives and friend group gatherings become the most common avenues where people catch the infection,” Dr Gopikumar added.
In public transport too, strict physical distancing must be implemented. Infections are also found to be increasing among senior citizens and children below 10 years. To control this, vulnerable people must stay indoors as much as possible, IMA said. It also asked the government to follow guidelines for opening malls, markets etc that the association had issued.
“Social interactions and gatherings should be monitored by the state. Further, an Information Control License should be issued to shops and workplaces by local self-government authorities,” the letter states.
For those patients in home isolation, the state should ensure daily monitoring by the health department.
Data to be made public
Data on the number of free beds, Intensive Care Units (ICU) and ventilators in both private and public hospitals treating coronavirus patients should be made available to the public.
The state should also form a coordination committee for COVID-19 by roping in medical experts and members of professional associations such as the IMA.
"Despite the spike in cases, our death rate is still low. But if hospitals overfill due to spike in cases, then death count will increase as people will not be able to access ventilators. Hence, implementing stringent restrictions is crucial to control the spread," Dr Gopikumar added.