The first Nipah outbreak in 2018 was a litmus test of the resilience of Kerala’s public health system, according to Health Minister K.K. Shylaja.
The experience in managing the outbreak helped Kerala realise the gaps and weaknesses in its public health system and helped it build a more sensitive and alert disease surveillance mechanism, Ms. Shylaja said while participating in a webinar organised by the UN on the occasion of Public Service Day 2020 on Tuesday.
The United Nations marked the day to honour the women and men who risk their lives and health to deliver essential public services amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Shylaja was the speaker from India, along with António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of World Health Organization, and Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, president of the General Assembly, among a chosen few leaders.
Answering a query on how the State had primed itself for the response to COVID-19, Ms. Shylaja said two consecutive Nipah outbreaks and two major floods in 2018 and 2019 had taught the State public health system about the importance of disease surveillance and preparedness.
Consequently, when COVID-19 first broke out in China, Kerala knew that there could not be any delay in taking pre-emptive measures, she said.
Guidelines and standard operating procedures for screening, diagnosis, and public health interventions were put in place and the surveillance network was activated. The State banked on its core strength of decentralised public health delivery system. The main objective of COVID-19 containment was to minimise the spread and the mortality, Ms. Shylaja added.