Coimbatore: Even as the world is reeling from the impact of the pandemic, recovery rates and places that have controlled the outbreak promises, a new ray of hope among the people.
Coimbatore: Even as the world is reeling from the impact of the pandemic, recovery rates and places that have controlled the outbreak promises, a new ray of hope among the people.
With over 29,000 Covid positive cases, Coimbatore is battling against the outbreak. However, the hamlets in Anaikatti region in the outskirts of Coimbatore tell a different story as only two cases have been reported, there.
The five hamlets with over 50 families -Kandivezhi, KandivezhiPudur, Panapalli , Kondanur and Jambukandi near Anaikati has reported only two positive Covid cases.
Activists and members from tribal welfare societies opine that tribals have strong immunity, compared to others. Thus, they have come a long way, they say.
Social distancing, masks, restricted movement of people, quarantining, restriction in entry of people in the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border are some of the steps taken by the authorities in the Anaikatti region to curb the spread of the virus.
The President of one of the hamlet said that the two people who were tested positive were working at brick kilns near Thadagam here. Even, they have recovered well and are doing fine, he added.
Though stringent pandemic norms have largely helped these hamlets escape from the pandemic, the villagers and activists strongly believe that tribals have stronger immunity power compared to city dwellers. They recall that unlike people like in urban areas, tribals have withstood several type of influenza.
They added that consumption of freshly prepared locally grown food and lesser exposure to crowded spaces has attributed to lesser infection rates at these secluded places.
Refuting these statements, Ronald, a Project Manager working for Nilgiris Wayanad Tribal Welfare Society said there is no proof in the statements vouching for high immunity levels among the tribals.
“I have seen many tribal women with low hemoglobin levels. Such women might be vulnerable for infection", he said.
"There was next to nil accessibility to travel during the lockdown. Hence, these tribal people escaped from contracting the virus. There are chances of infection among them too, if they travel to infected places", he opined.
However, awareness by the government and restricted movement has to a great extend kept these hamlets away from the novel coronavirus, thanks to the local government officials.
Sources add that last week, ambulance service at a hospital treating the tribals was launched in the presence of MLA Arukutty.