Kerala Health Minister Veena George has taken exception to the Union Health Ministry’s letter to the State Health Secretary, rebuking the State for its unilateral decision to stop publishing COVID-19 data on a daily basis.
Addressing the media here on Tuesday, Ms. George alleged that some vested interests were at play and that the intent behind “leaking to the media” the letter by the Union Joint Secretary (Health) even before the Principal Secretary (Health) received it was questionable.
She said it was condemnable that a national-level “campaign” had been launched to publicise that Kerala was not furnishing COVID data to the Centre.
It was the State government’s decision to stop publishing the COVID data daily bulletin. However, the State had been reporting this data to the Centre on a daily basis in the very same format the Centre had insisted on. These are digital data that cannot be hidden or tampered with, the Minister said.
The Principal Secretary (Health) would be replying to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Mohfw) in detail, including all digital evidence about the data furnished by the State, Ms. George said.
The State decided not to publish the COVID daily bulletin from April 10 as cases had begun to dwindle and disease transmission in the State had reached a level wherein it had ceased to be a major public health threat.
However, all COVID data was being collected, collated, monitored and analysed and the said reports were being sent to the Centre as well. The Health department will publish a fortnightly COVID status report at the State level. However, the government will go back to publishing the daily COVID bulletin if at all cases begin to show a rising trend, Ms. George pointed out.
COVID cases are at an all-time low in the State, and in the past few days, close to 200 cases were reported daily. On Monday, the number of COVID cases reported was 209. Deaths due to COVID have not gone up, even though deaths that came to be included in the official COVID fatality list following the filing of appeals by families, were still being reported, Ms. George said.
The Minister claimed that Kerala was the only State that had chosen to be transparent about declaring all COVID deaths, including those that came to be declared as COVID deaths following the Supreme Court’s directive. Even the apex court had been appreciative of the State’s efforts to maintain transparency regarding COVID deaths.
With COVID cases on the rise in many parts of the country, Kerala will need to maintain vigil. However, when the public is being told to learn to live with COVID, it is not right to spread unnecessary fear, she said.
Ms. George said though the State had lifted all COVID-related restrictions on civil life, it has not said that COVID protocols need not be followed.
The use of face masks and sanitisers should continue and all COVID protocols should be followed. Even if another COVID wave were to hit, the State’s health system was well-equipped to handle it, the Minister said.
