Kerala: 'Silent' community spread, a contradiction in terms?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The virus has made its presence felt in the state in June. Of 2,912 cases reported till date, 1,643 cases were reported in June alone. If one looks at the numbers since May 7 - when the third phase coinciding with the influx of Keralites from abroad and other states began - then it is almost alarming - 2,537 cases in a matter of 43 days or so whereas the number of cases reported from Jan 30 to May 6 (that is, in almost 95 days) is just 502.
With increase in the number of cases there is also concern that some form of community spread is happening in the state. Of the total number of cases reported in the state till date, the source of 60 cases are yet to be identified. "Even though there are no alarming cases of unknown contacts in the state, we cannot rule out a silent community spread in Kerala. There is obviously a trend towards community spread but it is happening silently. That is the reason why we have not yet traced the source of a few cases till now. But it is a silent one or else a major transmission of disease and big clusters would have formed by now,'' said Dr Anoop Kumar, chief of critical care medicine at Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode, and member of the government-appointed expert committee for Covid-19 care in Kerala.
H e says compared to other states, Kerala is relatively better in cases with unknown source. Of the total cases reported till date 85% are imported cases and only 15% are the cases which have been acquired through contact,'' said Dr Anoop. Regarding case without known source, Malappuram tops the chart with 13 cases and Thiruvananthapuram with 11 cases.