Udupi jolt as Karnataka logs 388 Covid cases in 24 hours

MANGALURU/UDUPI: A total 150 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Udupi on Tuesday, while none tested positive for the disease in Dakshina Kannada. The 150 positive cases that Udupi reported is the single largest spike in the disease for any district in the state since the pandemic broke out, taking its total active cases to 345, and overall positive cases recorded, as on Tuesday, to 410.
Dakshina Kannada has 61 active Covid-19 cases, against 137 positive cases reported in the district thus far. A total 148 of those who tested positive were returnees from Maharashtra, while one each who tested positive returned from Goa and Andhra Pradesh.
Incidentally, Udupi is still awaiting reports of 5,846 swab samples that health authorities collected from people who entered the district – predominantly by road and air—following the relaxation in norms that the state government allowed for those wanting to come back to their hometowns. The district administration has decided to treat only the most critical of cases at the designated Covid-19 hospital for Udupi – the TMA Pai Hospital—and the rest at the taluk Covid care centres.
G Jagadeesha, Udupi deputy commissioner, attributed the spurt to increased testing. “We tested 2,000 samples in the last 2 days, leading to 150 positive cases, against an average of 200-300 samples, that saw positive cases range daily from 10 to 20.” Asserting that there is no cause for concern, Jagadeesha said the district presently has 800 more beds available to treat Covid-19 patients, out of 1,120 set up for the purpose. If people are found asymptomatic after 7 days, they will be discharged if they test negative, he said.
Gayathri Nayak, deputy director, district urban development cell and in-charge of the Dakshina Kannada district bulletin, said all 113 reports that the district health authorities received tested negative for Covid-19. She said this was possible due to strict monitoring of institutional quarantine facilities as well as those in home quarantine. She said that 13 patients were discharged in the district as per the new discharge protocol that the department of health and family welfare has formulated, to ensure optimal utilisation of resources.
The heartening development of the day, the official said, was the discharge of a patient designated P-1434, who is a 40-year-old woman, who presented a major medical challenge. She was suffering from urinary tract infection and diabetes, and her condition was critical when she was brought to Wenlock Hospital. She was treated in the ICU and discharged on Tuesday, after her swab sample reports tested negative on Monday, the official said.
Private docs appointed to Covid hospitals in Udupi
With Udupi district receiving a large number of positive cases in the last two days, the district administration has decided to set up 400-bed Covid hospitals in Kundapur and Byndoor and appointed three doctors from private hospitals to these two hospitals.
Udupi District Commissioner G Jagadeesha said: “COVID- 19 cases are increasing drastically in the district and we are ready to face the challenge. For this purpose, we have appointed three expert doctors from private hospitals and if we need more experts, we will be appoint more”.
The DC said as Kundapura and Byndoor reported more COVID cases, hence the entire Kundapur government hospital would be converted into a full-fledged COVID hospital. ``Patients here will be shifted to Kota and Brahmavara Community Hospital. We earlier set up 120 beds here, now the old building with 80 beds will also be earmarked for COVID treatment. Apart from that 65 bed Adarsh hospital will be made COVID hospital. Similarly, there are many cases in Byndoor taluk so ‘Lalitambika Guest house’ will be converted into a 200-bed COVID Hospital,’’ he added.
Most of the positive cases reported here are asymptomatic. Those who are admitted with symptoms, critical cases and pregnant women will be sent to Covid Hospital, Udupi, he added.