Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Kerala, the state is gearing up to set up 100-bed first line treatment centres (FLTCs) in every panchayat, to accommodate those with mild or no symptoms.
District administrations, working with local bodies, are taking over auditoriums and community halls in every panchayat and municipality to set up the FLTCs, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday, July 16.
According to the government, the FLTCs will keep the rush away from the frontline COVID-19 hospitals, where the critical cases can be admitted.
In Ernakulam district, the FLTCs have been functioning over the past month. While these house a majority of COVID-19 patients, they are immediately taken to the nearest COVID-19 treatment, if they turn critical.
Meanwhile, in Thiruvananthapuram, the Greenfield stadium will be converted into an FLCT with the capacity to bed 500 to 750 people at a time. It will also have facilities for swab collection.
‘As a result of the tireless efforts and alacrity of our society, we have been successful in keeping the deaths per million under one…but if there are loopholes in our defences, it may lead to a huge disaster. We cannot afford to make any mistake on the back of misinformation,’ the CM said.
On Thursday, the state reported 722 new cases, taking the overall case tally past 10,000. At present, there are 5,372 active cases and 4,862 recoveries. Meanwhile, 37 people have succumbed to the infection in the state.
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