Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Wednesday reported 213 Covid deaths, the highest tally in the daily bulletins issued since the pandemic began. This is also the first time the daily death count crossed 200. While the daily Covid cases reported in Kerala has been declining, the high death numbers reported by the state continue to remain a concern.
The state today reported 19,661 new in covid cases, a slight dip from the tally of 19,760 yesterday. The test positivity rate recorded today is 15.3 per cent, slightly up from yesterday's 15.13 per cent.
The state currently has 1,92,165 active cases and it has tested over 2 crore samples for Covid.
With the state government imposing tight restrictions to stem the surge in Covid cases during the second wave of the pandemic, Kerala's daily case counts steadily dropped from over 40,000 in the first half of May to below the 20,000 marks.
The death numbers, however, have consistently increased. The state reported 48 deaths on May 1 and went on to cross 100 for the first time on May 19 before passing the 200-mark today.
Kerala on Saturday had extended the statewide lockdown till June 9 to stem the surge in Covid cases.
During the first wave, Kerala was able to keep the death count low despite a surge in cases. However, the current spike in Covis deaths during the second wave is a deviation from the trend seen during the first wave.
However, the case fatality remains low at 0.35, in comparison to the national average of 1.18.
The Covid death counts despite a decline in cases have also emerged as a political flashpoint, with the Opposition demanding that the 'death confirmation protocol' be changed and asserting that there should be no attempt to "deliberately portray low death rates".
Kerala's new Health Minister, Veena George, however, shot back saying the efforts of the state's health workers must not be devalued with such criticism.
"This allegation that the death count or death rate is being kept a secret is baseless. It negates all efforts of the health sector of Kerala. It needs to be withdrawn," Ms George said.
The health minister also responded that it is following the World Health Organization's guidelines while reporting the COVID related deaths.