COVID-19 vaccination to be ramped up in Ernakulam

Up to 30,000 doses to be given daily; testing to be raised to 12,000 samples a day

The Ernakulam district administration will ramp up both vaccination and testing to deal with the spike in COVID-19 cases. Daily testing will be increased to 12,000 samples, while the administration has set the vaccination target at around 30,000 doses daily. Testing will be intensified among people arriving from abroad and from other States. The decision was taken at a meeting of health officials with Ernakulam District Collector S. Suhas to evaluate the COVID-19 situation in Ernakulam. Health officials are anticipating a surge in the coming weeks. The district has already started witnessing a spike, not just in cases, but also in the number of ICU admissions in the past one week. In an online briefing, the Collector said that test positivity rate (TPR) had risen from 5.5% on Thursday to 7.2% on Friday. “In the past two weeks, the TPR and active cases have grown in a manner that is worrisome. A two-pronged strategy of increasing testing and vaccination will be followed,” he said.