Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that the Union government will favourably consider the state government's request for 60 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the coming month. This assurance was given when the duo met in Delhi on Monday.
The prime minister told CM Vijayan that the Centre was worried about Kerala's high test positivity rate (TPR), which hovered around 10 per cent in the last month. According to sources, the chief minister then explained the peculiar scenario in Kerala, which has a high percentage of elderly populace and high density of population. There is no rural-urban divide in Kerala, as in other states, which was also cited by the chief minister as one of the reasons.
Keeping this in mind, the chief minister requested the prime minister to ensure vaccination, which is very crucial for the state to keep the COVID spread in control. According to the chief minister, nearly 80 per cent of the population is still untouched by coronavirus, due to the effective surveillance in the state.
PM Modi then assured all support to the state government and also advised it to increase the number of tests. He also told the state government to increase quarantine facilities. According to state government sources, the prime minister also expressed appreciation for the low mortality rate of Kerala, which is one of the lowest in the country.
The rising coronavirus cases has been a political issue in Kerala. Blaming the Kerala government for its 'failure' to bring down COVID-19 cases despite the restrictions, the Congress had said that a third wave of the virus is expected and the administration should take steps to reduce the infections before that happens. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K. Sudhakaran pointed out that Delhi and Tamil Nadu, where cases were very high, have managed to bring down the infection numbers without as many restrictions as there were in Kerala.
He said a third wave of COVID-19 is expected and the government should take steps to reduce the cases.
The KPCC Chief alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and obtained permissions for various projects, but he did not discuss the issue of augmenting supply of vaccines to Kerala.
