Kerala Following Covid Protocol, Centre's Statements "Unfortunate": State Minister

Kerala is continuing to strictly follow all COVID-19 protocols and the reporting of monkeypox has not led to any slack in the preventive measures against the pandemic, state Health Minister Veena George said on Monday.

Any remarks to the contrary by the Centre were "unfortunate" and political in nature, she said.

The minister said preventive measures, like wearing of face masks, use of sanitisers, washing of hands with soap and maintaining social distancing, were the same for COVID-19 and monkeypox and therefore, there have been no slack in them.

Speaking to reporters here, Ms George said it was unfortunate if the central government was saying that the state was not adhering to COVID-19 protocols due to the reporting of monkeypox cases.

"It is unfortunate if the Centre is making such political statements," she said in response to a query by reporters regarding the Centre having allegedly said that Kerala was not properly following COVID-19 protocols after the monkeypox cases were reported.

She reiterated that the state was strictly following the COVID-19 protocols and preventive measures.

Till July 24, Kerala has recorded a total of 67,10,792 COVID-19 cases with 1,700 fresh cases being reported on Sunday according to data on the state government's COVID dashboard.

The state has also reported 70,394 deaths till Sunday and the active cases till then in Kerala were -- 17,992, according to the data.