It may sound ironic, but the death rate in Kerala has come down drastically this year when compared to last year, thanks to COVID-19! There were 1,93,186 deaths till August in 2019, but the total number of deaths that have happened in the state till August 2020 is 1,32,748.
Similarly, the incidence of respiratory illnesses and other fevers also has come down drastically as per the data collated by the state health department. There also have been a fall in the number of pneumonia cases in the state, as per the state Prevention of Epidemic and Infectious Diseases (PEID) cell. All these positive health fallouts are directly linked to COVID-19-induced lifestyle changes.
“People have been staying indoors mostly and have been taking extra care of their health all these months due to COVID-19. This could be the singular reason behind this fall in deaths and also infections,'' Dr B. Ekbal, chairperson of the Advisory Committee which advises Kerala government on matters related to COVID-19, told THE WEEK.
Ekbal said that similar trends could be traced in other places, too, as most people have stayed indoors world over.
Also the purchase of medicines—mostly without prescription—have also come down as people were scared to step out unnecessarily and this, too, may have contributed in the improvement of overall immunity of the people, according to health experts.
The fall in deaths can be seen in all districts, though the maximum reduction in numbers is seen in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts.
Similarly, the number of accidents and accident-related deaths have also come down this year, thanks to the COVID-19-induced restrictions on travel. There were 4,442 such deaths in 2019, but only 1,637 so far in 2020. Also, there have been only 15,203 accident cases in the state till August this year, while the figure was 41,111 for 2019.
But the trend is reversing, as per people in the know. “There have been rarely any accident cases in the causality in the medical college hospitals till last month. But now, with life getting back to normal, the number has gone up,'' said Nandu G., who works in the casualty department of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.
