Present curbs leading to overcrowding in Kerala: IMA

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has termed the lockdown restrictions implemented in the state “unscientific”. The present restrictions are only leading to overcrowding of people and it is not going to do any good for bringing down the cases.
The IMA in a statement said the restriction in the opening of shops and establishments are leading to overcrowding of people in the shops when it is opened. In many places it has been found that the people are not maintaining Covid protocols.
It is purely unscientific to have total lockdown on a few days and open everything in other days. This will lead to crowding of people in those places, which causes the present crisis, said IMA state president Dr P T Zachrias.
It is a dangerous phenomenon that we are allowing people to crowd when shops are opened for a few hours. The government should hence allow the shops and establishments to open on all days such that it will receive only a scattered crowd.
The IMA also ridiculed the state government for encouraging community testing. Instead of community testing, what the government should follow is contact tracing and testing. The contact tracing and home isolation have been efficient in the first phase of the pandemic in the state. But now this is not being strictly followed, said IMA state secretary Dr P Gopakumar.
At present, if one positive case is reported from a house, it is seen that all the members of the family are becoming positive in the coming days. The disease spread is fast inside the family and many families are becoming a cluster. Hence the government should concentrate on shifting the people to first-line treatment centres instead of allowing them to spread the disease within the family, said the IMA leaders.
They also said the vulnerable population should be found out through sero survey. It has been found that only 30% of the total population have secured immunity through vaccination. We can wipe out this pandemic from the community only if 80% of the population are vaccinated and achieved immunity, said the IMA leaders.