No. of patients recovering higher than fresh cases in DK in October

Mangaluru: The silver lining in the dark Covid-19 cloud has been growing wider in Dakshina Kannada in the past fortnight with the number of patients recovering from the infection outstripping that of the fresh cases being reported in the coastal district. Between October 1 and 14, the district reported 4,492 fresh Covid-19 cases, while 6,122 patients recovered from the infection in the same period giving much cause for the district administration to heave a sigh of relief. However, the health department in the district is staying as vigilant as ever in view of the upcoming festive season, which they fear might trigger a fresh wave of infections.
In all, as many as 2,09,218 samples have been tested for Covid-19 in Dakshina Kannada as on October 14, of which 27,438 – 13% – have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. While 22,923 patients, that is roughly 84%, have recovered from the infection, 617 people – 2.2% – have succumbed to it in Dakshina Kannada, leaving the number of active cases at 4,200.
The number of fresh Covid-19 cases being recorded since October 1, when the district reported 493 cases, has been on a downward slide since, barring October 7 and 9.
However, Dakshina Kannada district health and family welfare officer Dr Ramachandra Bairy does not want to celebrate prematurely. “The number of fresh Covid-19 cases being reported in October has slid to 300, on average, while the number of people recovering from the infection is much higher. But we cannot conclusively say that this is a downward trend. The festival season that begins next week will last till Deepavali. It is next to impossible to curtail movement of public in the next few weeks, and the number of cases may well surge again,” Dr Bairy told TOI.
Dakshina Kannada is one of the few districts that is surpassing its daily target as far as conducting tests is concerned. While the coastal district has been set a target of conducting 3,700 tests daily, the actual number is around 4,500. “We have registered a slight decline in the fatality rate in the past few months. We have been treating patients from Uttara Kannada, Kasaragod, Shivamogga, Davanagere, Kodagu, Hassan and Udupi districts. We will continue to provide treatment to all of them,” Dr Bairy added.