Uninfected in containment zones on priority for vax

Thiruvananthapuram: The expert committee on Covid-19 management, led by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Friday decided to administer Covid-19 vaccine to all non-infected people in every containment zone.
Covid tests would be conducted on all in the containment zone and everyone who tests negative for the disease would be vaccinated on a priority basis, chief minister’s office informed.
The CM called for coordinated and fast efforts to carry out the vaccination drive. Vaccine doses set aside for districts should be timely spent, he said. Based on geographical area, 10 districts would get 40,000 vaccine doses and the remaining four districts would get 25,000 doses each.
Special vaccination drive would be conducted across the state from August 14 to 16. Prior permission is a must for all public functions. “In view of the online classes, examination and Plus One admission process, teachers would be exempted from Covid duty,” a CMO statement said. The expert committee advised government staff against organising Onam programmes except floral carpets in view of the lingering pandemic.
Meanwhile, state health department on Friday vaccinated 5.35 lakh people, the highest in a day so far. Last time, 5.15 lakh people were vaccinated on a single day. On Friday, 4,02,400 vaccine doses arrived in the state.
20,425 new Covid cases, 114 deaths
The state on Friday recorded 20,425 new Covid-positive cases and 114 deaths. Test positivity rate was 14.35% in the 1,42,501 samples tested.
Due to above-8 high WIPR, 364 local body wards are under strict lockdown. The number of infected health workers was 101 on Friday. As many as 16,856 persons recovered from the disease, taking the total recovery cases to 34,53,174.