MERI Mirror, April' 2020

The Fighting Spirit Of Kerala
Against COVID -19
-By Gaurav Joshi
Kerala reported the first COVID – 19 positive case in the country on January 30,
2020. Initially,, the odds seemed to be stacked against the picturesque southern
state, which is the eye of the center for the tourism . The number of cases rose
steadily and became a hotspot. As on 16 April 2020, there have been 394
confirmed cases with 245 recoveries and 2 deaths in the state. But Kerala also
has the lowest mortality rate of 0.51% among all the states in India. All this
happens because of the hard work of the State Government and health workers.
Everyone is praising them for their efforts against the COVID -19 . Not by the
numbers of patients but the State Government also ensure that no one is dying
hungry during this lockdown . Everyone knows that food is the basic need of
every individual, so to fulfill it, the State Government converted it's schools into
Community Kitchens which functions on Panchayat basis. The main purpose of
this scheme is to formulate and ensure that food is provided to everyone in the
state. Especially those who are living alone should be taken care during these
times. Local residents have joined as volunteers to ensure the success of the
programme. The one who want to get the food parcel just need to give a call, food
will be delivered at their doorstep. Every Panchayat ensures that there should
be no migrant laborers that shall face any difficulty as they can't leave for their
native places due to lockdown . They also ensure that differently-abled and poor
get the food. The number of people they are delivering food is increasing day by
day. For many, it is not just a fight against COVID -19 , but also a fight to meet
their daily needs and these food parcels are a reminder that they are not alone.
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