Vigil for Lives: Kerala Launches Third Phase of ‘Break the Chain’ Campaign

The Kerala state government’s Health Department on Wednesday launched the third phase of its ‘Break the Chain’ campaign with a slogan “Vigil for lives (Jeevante Vilayulla Jagratha)”.

“Sixty percent of Covid-19 patients in the state don’t show any kind of symptoms,” said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during a press conference on Wednesday evening, urging people to maintain at least two-metre distance while interacting with others. As the number of asymptomatic cases in the state is high, the risk of getting infected is also high, he said while launching the third phase of the campaign.  

When the state had reported the outbreak of the virus, the health department in the state had launched the Break the Chain awareness campaign. It sensitised people about the need to wash their hands with soap and clean water, use hand sanitisers, and maintain physical distancing. In the second phase of the campaign, it additionally emphasised preventing reckless dumping of used masks and restricting spitting in public, while encouraging people to drink enough water, eat healthy food, and use handkerchiefs when sneezing or coughing.

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The state witnessed its highest single-day surge of 623 fresh cases on Wednesday with 96 cases coming from abroad and 76 from other states. The total infection tally crossed the 9,500-mark and the death toll climbed to 36 with a woman succumbing to the virus in Idukki. This is the second consecutive day that the daily spike has crossed 600. On Tuesday, 608 cases were reported. 

The number of cases of infection through contact rose to 432 on Wednesday, Vijayan said. While 4,880 cases are active, 4,636 people have recovered, including 196 discharged on Wednesday. Thiruvananthapuram has the highest number of patients, 939, followed by Malappuram 563, Alappuzha 520, and Ernakulam 475. 

Source: CM press conference

This is the first time that 432 people were reported to have been infected through contact, while the source of infection for 37 people is not known. Nine health workers and nine Defence Service Corps (DSC) personnel have also tested positive. Among the 14 districts, Thiruvananthapuram reported the highest number of cases at 157, including 130 infected through contact. 

In the last 24 hours, 16,444 samples have been sent for testing, while samples of 2,60,353 lakh people have been tested so far. The total number of hotspots was 234 as of Wednesday.

(With inputs from PTI)

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