Coronavirus in Kerala: Higher influx of people exposes gaps in the state's quarantine system

There are signs of Kerala’s coronavirus quarantine system getting thrown out of gear as the authorities find themselves unable to cope with the increased flow of people from outside the state.

A special train carrying Keralites from red-zone Maharashtra on Sunday had to be cancelled at the last minute as the Kerala government informed the state and the railway it needs more time to organise quarantine for the passengers.

Passengers coming by a similar train from Mumbai on Saturday had a harrowing time as they had to wait for hours at different places without proper food or care before being sent to quarantine centres. The train was organised under the initiative of the state Congress Committee although the poor arrangements indicated more of systemic failure than political reasons.

District authorities in Kannur were caught by surprise when 152 passengers got down at the Kannur railway station. They had information about the special train carrying 1,600 passengers, but were unaware of the number getting down at Kannur and had not made any special arrangement to take care of the passengers.

Passengers bound for other districts also had a similar experience when they were asked to wait at Chengannur, a major stop for trains in Kerala as the station there feeds more than one district.

A special train destined for Kerala from Ahmedabad was also denied permission as the state government indicated they were not ready with the arrangements. The denial of permission had become a source of major embarrassment for the government as the opposition parties accused the Pinarayi government of mere grandstanding without making adequate ground preparations.

The CM had earlier announced the state government had made elaborate arrangements for the quarantine of 1.5 lakh people in the first phase and the rest of the 5 lakh people who had registered on the state government’s agency responsible for handling the affairs of Keralites working outside the country and other states.

The inadequacies as exposed by incidents in recent days have given the opposition a stick to beat the Pinarayi government with.

With more planeloads of people coming from other countries and a steady stream of special trains from across the country, especially red zone states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Delhi, the state’s defence against the virus is likely to expose more gaps.

Already, the number of new patients reported on a daily basis has spiked to new highs, with 52 new cases on Sunday, followed by 62 the previous day. The cases are mostly in the case of people coming from other states and overseas, but there is a spike in the number of infections through local contacts also.

The state also recorded its fifth Covid death on Sunday, when a 52-year-old woman coming from Dubai and undergoing treatment in the medical college died. The woman was already in a critical condition due to advanced stage of cancer in her internal organs.