Kerala's COVID-19 death rate has decreased in recent months, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday. The Chief Minister noted that till date in the month of October, the death rate of Kerala stands at 0.28%.
"In May, the death rate was 0.77%. In June, it reduced to 0.45%, in August it further reduced to 0.4% and in September it was 0.38%. For October till date, the death rate stands at 0.28%," CM Pinarayi said during the press meet held in Thiruvananthapuram.
The CM said that Kerala had been witnessing low death rates from the beginning of the pandemic outbreak. "Even when the disease was at a peak point, we saw the death rate was still dropping... This is a proud achievement," he said.
He pointed to the international recognition that Kerala has received for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. "All the recognitions we received are due to tireless efforts to save lives," Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had recently noted the rise in COVID-19 cases in Kerala and said the state was “paying the price for gross negligence.” During the press meet, Pinarayi Vijayan said that the Union health minister may have thought the increase in cases was due to Onam celebrations.
"Only minimal relaxations were given as part of Onam… Police were very cautious on implementing the regulations. Thousands of cases were registered against people who violated regulations," he said.
Slamming the state’s Opposition parties, the CM blamed them for the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. "This is the result of someone trying to sabotage the COVID-19 preventive activities… In one instance, there were widespread protests. There were public calls asking to come out for protest violating the pandemic regulations in place. When responsible leaders behave like this, won't it create the wrong impression to the public?" CM said.
On Monday, Kerala recorded 7,469 recoveries and 5,022 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the infection count to 3,33,881. The death toll mounted to 1,182 with 21 fatalities. Those presently under treatment are 92,731, the Chief Minister said. Fresh cases included 59 health workers.
In the last 24 hours, 36,599 samples were tested and the results of 7,469 returned negative, taking the recoveries so far to 2,52,868.
Watch: CM Pinarayi's press meet on Monday