Nearly 10% of Kerala population contracted COVID-19 so far
Going by the sero prevalence survey conducted by the government in February before the second wave of the pandemic began, the actual number of coronavirus infections is estimated to be nearly one crore.
Going by the sero prevalence survey conducted by the government in February before the second wave of the pandemic began, the actual number of coronavirus infections is estimated to be nearly one crore.
Going by the sero prevalence survey conducted by the government in February before the second wave of the pandemic began, the actual number of coronavirus infections is estimated to be nearly one crore.
Thiruvananthapuram: The number of coronavirus infections in Kerala so far has officially crossed 30 lakh. About 10 per cent of the state's population, excluding Keralites abroad and in other states, has been infected by the coronavirus that causes the disease. Of this, 28,89,186 have so far recovered from the illness.
The population of Kerala is estimated to be 35.8 million or 3.58 crores in 2021. As per the figures of the Unique Identification Authority of India, the projected population in the state was 35,699,443 by mid-2020.
Kerala reported 15,600 new COVID-19 cases and 11,629 recoveries on Wednesday. The Test Positivity Rate (TPR) in the state stands at 10.36%. With 148 COVID-19 deaths too confirmed on Wednesday, the death toll in the state so far rose to 14,108.
Likely numbers based on sero survey figures
But going by the sero prevalence survey conducted by the government in February before the second wave of the pandemic began, the actual number of coronavirus infections is estimated to be nearly one crore.
As per the first sero survey released by the health department in March, over 35 lakh people are estimated to have been exposed to the coronavirus. The official count of total COVID-19 cases reported across the state by February 28 was 10.59 lakh. In other words, the actual number of Covid cases was 3.5 times the official figures.
If 3.5 times the current figure of 30 lakh is considered, then the total number of COVID-19 cases could have crossed one crore.
As the second wave was more virulent, this ratio could have increased further. Sero survey will have to be conducted again to know the exact figures.
In May the expert committee on COVID-19 management had sought to hold a serosurvey urgently as preparation for the third wave. But the government is yet to give the nod.