Kerala reels under rising COVID cases, Centre sends 6-member high-level team

The 6-member Central team to Kerala will be headed by National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director, Health Minister Mandaviya said in a tweet.

New Delhi: Amid a sharp rise in new cases of coronavirus infection in Kerala, the central government on Thursday said that it will send a high-level multidisciplinary team to the state to assess the situation there.

The announcement was made by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. “The government is sending a 6-member team to Kerala headed by Director, National Centre for Disease Control. As a large number of COVID cases are still being reported in Kerala, the team will aid the state’s ongoing efforts in COVID management,” Mansukh Mandaviya said.

The central team will work closely with the State Health authorities in instituting effective public health measures for COVID-19 management. The 6-member Central team to Kerala will be headed by National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director, Mandaviya said in a tweet.

"As a large number of COVID cases are still being reported in Kerala, the team will aid state`s ongoing efforts in COVID-19 management," Mandaviya wrote.

The Central team is expected to reach Kerala on Friday, following which it will visit a few districts, a health ministry release said. Some of the worst affected districts in Kerala are Malappuram, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had earlier written a letter to the Kerala government expressing concerns over Super spreader events observed in Kerala in the past recent past. 

In his letter, the Health Secretary also mentioned that COVID guidelines need to be followed properly. Meanwhile, the Kerala government has imposed a complete lockdown from July 31 to August 1 in view of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. 

The Home isolation needs to be observed as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). (ANI)

Kerala had on Wednesday recorded 22,056 new COVID-19 cases taking the infection caseload to 33,27,301, while over 131 more people succumbed to the virus taking the toll to 16,457. 

As many as 17,761 people have been cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 31,60,804 and the number of active cases to 1,49,534, a state government release said.

(With Agency Inputs)