Like Nipah, Coronavirus, Too, Has Taught Us Lessons

January 30, 2.30am. It was an odd hour for a media briefing. But, only a few hours earlier, Kerala had confirmed the first-ever case of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in India. After a two-hour-long meeting of the rapid response team, Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja told the media that the state was all set to tackle the disease that had caught the world unawares.

- Cithara Paul

And, Shailaja teacher (as she is popularly known, thanks to her previous profession) kept her word. Though two more cases were confirmed, the state was declared ‘coronavirus free’ after all three patients tested negative for the virus and were discharged.

The situation, however, was quite different a few weeks ago. There was panic as the government declared Covid-19 a state calamity after the three cases were confirmed in different parts of the state. There were reports that the tourism industry was badly hit, with foreign tourists cancelling hotel bookings. But Shailaja told THE WEEK, “At that point in time, we felt lives were more important than revenue.”

The three Covid-19 patients, who were studying medicine in China and had reached Kerala following the outbreak, were admitted in medical colleges in the state. Those who had been in contact with the trio, too, were quarantined. As were those who had arrived from China and their kin.

At one point in time, the number of those quarantined was more than 4,000. No new cases have been confirmed in the last 26 days, and the number of those under observation is barely 50. Kerala has achieved this at a time when the rest of the world is still grappling with the pandemic, which has claimed 2,595 lives worldwide (as on February 24).

When asked the secret behind the state’s achievement, Shailaja, who had stayed put in Kozhikode, the epicentre of the Nipah outbreak, two years ago, said it was “calculation, planning and coordination”, sounding quite like a teacher. Excerpts from an interview:

At a time when one hears only bad news about Covid-19, you have a positive story to tell.