Time not yet ripe to ease COVID-19 lockdown: Kerala panel

(Eds: Recasts, adds details) Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 7 () Describing the COVID-19pandemic as an "unprecedented" public health crisis in recenthistory, a Kerala government appointed task force has pitchedfor a "phased" and "calibrated" lifting of the nationallockdown, saying "time is not yet ripe" for its fullwithdrawal from April 14.

Continuing restriction of large scale movement of peopleacross international and state boundaries was critical andeasing it should not be considered unless and until thesituation was under control in every state, it suggested.

"The Expert Committee assessed that the time is not yetripe for full withdrawal of the lock down on April 14th, 2020.The committee recommends a withdrawal strategy that should begradual, phased and calibrated to ensure that the case load isalways kept below the (surge) capacity of the healthcaresystem to deal with it," the panel said in its report.

However, the panel said it also felt that prolonged andstringent lockdown would lead to economic hardship, famine andlaw and order problems, which could undermine both thelockdown and the health management objectives.

The 17-member taskforce, headed by former chief secretaryK M Abraham and comprising eminent personalities, includingrenowned film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, submitted itsreport to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the 21-daylockdown to check the spread of the coronavirus.

When asked about the strategy the government was likelyto adopt after the lockdown period, Vijayan told reporters onTuesday the state would be able to chart its future course ofaction only after knowing the Centre's decision on the 21-daylockdown, imposed to check the spread of the deadly virus.

The task force report was for the Centre's perusal andnot for the state government, the Chief Minister said addingit had been sent to the Prime Minister.

A total of 336 people in the state had been infected bythe coronavirus, of which 263 are active cases.

Over 1.40 lakh are under observation and 752 people invarious hospitals.

Kerala, which reported the country's first threecoronavirus cases and successfully treated them, has sevenCOVID-19 hotspot districts -- Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam,Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod.

Replying to a question, Vijayan said it was a nation-wide 21-day lockdown and the state government was followingthe directions of the Centre.

"The centre had declared a 21-day-long lockdown tillApril 14. Let the centre take a decision whether to continueor not with the lockdown... We will take a suitable decisionaccordingly," he added.

The phased withdrawal would be sustainable only if therewas a steady recovery and decline in the number of casesleading to initial flattening of the infection curve and thengradual tapering of the curve to zero infection cases,according to the 39-page report.

The government should advise people of the state that inthe event of a resurgence, they should be ready and willing toundergo the rigors of a complete lockdown once again, it said.

It suggested that the unit for operationalising a phasedwirhdrawl approach should be a district as it had definedboundaries and an executive magistrate who had the authorityto effectively enforce the measures of the phased lock down.

While the lockdown may be relaxed, the effort to ramp upproduction and procurement of test kits, ventilators, personalprotective equipment for healthcare personnel and masks shouldnot be relaxed, the experts opined.

There should be a national effort for this purpose andall available capacity, including adapted capacity in otherindustries, should be used, it said. "Central government should release funds for this andcreate a mechanism to distribute them on a need basis to avoidstate governments trying to outbid one another or creatingsupply side disruptions", it said.

As different states are expected to pass through the peakinfection at different timings, it will be useful andimportant to establish a national co-ordination mechanism sothat they could support one another with experience,expertise, equipment and finances, the report suggested.

It mooted three-phased criterias for the relaxation oflockdown in affected districts.

In Phase 1, no person shall travel outside the housewithout wearing face masks and no gathering of more than fivepersons for any purpose should be permitted.

No religious congregations to be permitted and all placesof worship shall remain closed and attendance at marriages andfunerals should be restricted to 10 persons.

Cordoning off the entire panchayat or wards and enforcingcomplete restriction of travel outside were recommended ininfection hotspot areas.

Deploying of additional police force in the hotspotboundary is necessary to ensure the strict enforcement of thelockdown and essential commodities and food from communitykitchen are delivered through the Voluntary Task Force, thereport said. LGK RRT UDVS VS