Covid-19: With 2 deaths per hour, July accounts for 76% of total deaths in Karnataka

BENGALURU: The state has lost, on an average, two people to Covid-19 every hour since July 1, a clear indication that the government must shift focus to preventing deaths if it wants to emerge from the pandemic with a credible record. Since the start of the month there have been 786 fatalities, taking the toll to 1,032 on July 16 from just 246 on June 30.
Of the deaths reported in July, a staggering 562 came in the past eight days alone at a rate of three an hour, which took Covid-19 deaths per million to 17.2 as on July 16, compared to four per million on June 30. Most of the deaths in June came in the last two weeks of the month. On June 15, the state had only 88 deaths, but the figure rose to 246 by June 30. As on May 30, the number of fatalities stood at 51.

Bengaluru, with its better health infrastructure, but also more cases, has led the way with 507 deaths — 412 of which have been between July 1 and 16. Bidar (53) stands second on this grim statistic, followed by Dakshina Kannada (52), Ballari (51), Mysuru (40) and Dharwad (52).
Epidemiologists and clinical experts TOI spoke to insist that unlike rising cases, which is truly beyond the control of authorities, many deaths can be prevented. The state, they say, must consciously put in place prevention strategies.
Dr CN Manjunath, member, Karnataka Covid-19 taskforce, said: “We did expect cases to go up since the virus was expected to peak and we’ve also ramped up testing. I completely agree that we must focus on reducing deaths. For this, there must be better coordination. Many beds are unfortunately occupied by asymptomatic or patients with less than moderate symptoms, which should not happen. These beds must be utilised to treat sick patients.”
As cases increase globally, Manjunath said that the pathophysiology of the disease is being better understood, which will result in changed treatment protocol.
Earlier this week, medical education minister K Sudhakar, quoting from the Mahabharata, had said: “Pandavas chose Krishna over his huge Yadava army. Likewise to win any war, confidence is key. No country can ever be prepared for a pandemic of this scale. Fight this pandemic with courage and trust the government.”
But, the government has been failing its people since it has not even audited deaths efficiently. As on July 15, only about 100 of the 928 deaths were audited.
Dr S Sacchidanand, who spearheads the Covid-19 death audit committee, said: “We’ve recommended to the government that the auditing process be decentralised. Given that most experts are busy treating patients, there has been a delay in auditing. We’ve done about 100 and another 50 will be completed soon.”
Earlier, it was late reporting, comorbidities and ignoring symptoms that were seen as major reasons, Sacchidanand said, adding: “But I’m not sure what the reasons for the high surge in the last two weeks could be.”