Kerala Health Minister Veena George was briefing the state assembly about the Covid deaths (File)
Thiruvananthapuram:
State Health Minister Veena George said today that 41 pregnant women have so far died of COVID-19 in Kerala after contracting the virus in the southern state a year and a half ago.
The number of Covid positive persons who killed themselves in the state stood at 149, he told the Kerala Assembly during Question Hour.
The state health minister was responding to a question raised by Congress MLA TJ Vinod in this regard.
George said, “As per the data received from the district, 41 pregnant women have succumbed to the disease in the state. In addition, 149 patients affected by the viral infection have committed suicide.”
Replying to another query by Mathew Kujalnadan (Congress), he said that as per reports, there is no difference between the findings of the recent sero spread scientific study conducted by the state health department and similar surveys by apex medical body ICMR. Seems like. .
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research or ICMR study report, the sero positivity rate in Kerala stood at 0.33 per cent, 0.88 per cent and 11.6 per cent in May, August and December in 2020 respectively and 44.4 per cent in the state in May 2021. The Health Minister noted.
“When the state conducted the sero prevalence study during August-September this year, it increased to 82.61 per cent.”
The sero positivity rate in the state was expected to increase and this can be attributed to the progress in vaccination and lifestyle of the people, he said, adding that this was a reflection of the effective COVID-19 management initiatives of the state government.
The findings of the state study indicated that a large section of the population in the state has acquired resistance against the pandemic.
It also pointed out that 17 per cent of the total population was still suffering from the disease, Ms George said.
The minister, citing the survey, said the highest sero prevalence rate among different categories of people who received two doses of the vaccine was found in coastal people at -93.3 per cent.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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