Covid-19: Six Karnataka districts with high cases on Centre’s watch

BENGALURU: The central government is closely monitoring six Karnataka districts with a high Covid-19 caseload. These are: Bengaluru Urban, Davanagere, Koppal, Ballari, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru. Parameters such as positivity rate, active infections and case fatality rate are being analysed and plans are being made to strengthen hospital infrastructure, from ventilators to supply of oxygen.
“Review meetings have been happening with the Centre. At the last meeting, six districts were seen as the worst-affected,” said health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey. He added vigorous testing was being done in the six districts.

Officials of the state health and family welfare department have been conducting regular videoconferences with heads of private and government hospitals in the regions to monitor Covid-19 management. Some new measures include increasing the number of ventilators in Dakshina Kannada, which has reported 440 Covid-19 deaths so far. After Bengaluru, Mysuru has logged a high number of cases in the past few weeks. Currently, the district has more than 7,000 active infections. The case fatality rate stands at 2.2 per cent, which is higher than the state average of 1.6 per cent.
Pandey said there was greater focus in the six districts on protecting vulnerable population groups such as pregnant women, elderly people with comorbidity and patients with tuberculosis or HIV. Field staff and the Apthamitra helpline are being used to check their health status. But ensuring adequate numbers of trained personnel is a challenge, he said. “We are getting 900 PG students in our health system for one-year compulsory service. Finalyear nursing students are also on the job,” he added.
Doctors in north Karnataka shared a worrying trend: patients in home isolation selfmedicate and rush to hospitals at the last hour. “There are also problems with ICU management and that’s why deaths are rising,” said a senior doctor in Koppal, which has seen 189 deaths. Another Koppal doctor said instead of collaborating, officials were trading blame. “Doctors are avoiding Covid-19 duty after seeing their colleagues work for 12 to 13 hours. Officials are unable to provide an eight-hour shift as there are not enough doctors,” he said.
An official in Ballari said the focus should be on reducing mortality, and the number of cases should not cause panic: “If the tally of cases is climbing, it means that hidden clusters are being detected.”