The active COVID-19 case load has been declining in Kozhikode district compared with the situation in October, though there is no let-up in the daily test positivity rate (TPR), the number of people testing positive for the virus per 100 samples, which is between 10% and 14%. The number of deaths has also not come down significantly.
The total number of active cases in the district had crossed above 12,000 once in October. By November first week, the daily figure came down to around 9,000. As on December 1, there are 6,340 active cases here. The number of people getting infected every day, which once went above 1,500 in October, was down to below 1,000 in November. It is crossing 800 only sporadically now.
There is, however, no significant let-up in the daily TPR though the total TPR so far is below 9%. The district administration had decided to impose prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in October first week till the month-end after the TPR rose from 4% in September first week to 5.8% in the second week, 7.8% in the third week, and 10.8% in the fourth week. Thereafter, it was well above 14%. The surge in fresh cases was attributed to the Onam celebrations and relaxation of restrictions by a section of people. The prohibitory orders were extended to another 15 days in an order on October 31 though the district administration claimed that the TPR had been brought down to 10%. The administration had claimed that the epidemic was “not completely under control” and there was a tendency for a surge if the existing protocol is compromised. The TPR had been hovering between around 9% and 14% in November. It is learnt that the daily quota of lab tests for Kozhikode district is 6,500. The administration claims that they were almost sticking to the target and quite often exceeding it as well.
There has been only a slight decline in the number of deaths as well. While 62 people succumbed to the infection in October, 56 people died in November.
