In its fight to contain the secondary infection and possible community transmission of the coronavirus, Kerala has decided to open ‘corona care homes’ near all four international airports of the state. This will enable the state to curb the movement of travellers and help quarantine them effectively.
“We are entering a critical phase. We need more care and alert. There are some instances that people on home quarantine slipped out and interacted with others. It will foil our planning and preparedness. It is a social responsibility and everyone should go by the directives of health officials,” said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He chaired a meeting at the state capital on Wednesday with medical experts, scientists and health activists.
“Home quarantine is not fool proof. We have to be more careful as a large number of people are returning from various parts of the world. Concerned district administrations have identified places outside the airports for care homes,” said state health minister K K Shailaja. Kerala has large number of expatriate population – at least 10 per cent of 3.34 crore population – and four international airports – Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Kozhikode and Kannur.
A senior health ministry official said that some of these homes will be equipped to lodge people 4,000-5,000 people and enough health staff, doctors and lab facility will be arranged there. It will help the state to manage suspected cases of coronavirus and others who are coming from high-risk areas and curb their interaction with people of the state.
The official also said that medial students and health volunteers will be roped in and help of private doctors will also be sought. “This will also help remove possible stigma and scare attached to the hospital isolation,” he said.
The state health ministry has recently released the food menu of those who were admitted to isolation wards – on Tuesday they were given dosa with chutney, sambhar, boiled egg, orange and one litre mineral water for breakfast; at 10.30 am orange juice; at lunch rice, fish curry, ‘thoran,’ curd and pappad; in the evening tea with biscuit or vada and dinner appam and vegetable stew with a banana and one litre water. The foreigners were served non-vegetarian items. “In care homes also we will maintain the standard of in-flight food. We are ready for a long haul,” the official said, adding it was a battle for them.
Kerala is the first state to report the virus in January – three students returned from coronavirus epicentre Wuhan in China, and were discharged after being free of disease. Now 24 positive cases are in the state and more than 18,000 under observation – 17,743 in their homes and 268 in hospitals.
