Drop in testing: Covid-19 cases, deaths go unreported in north Karnataka

BELAGAVI: The government’s decision to do away with random testing appears to have resulted in largescale underreporting of Covid-19 cases and deaths in rural areas across North Karnataka. Activists and healthcare professionals working on the ground claim the numbers shown in the health department’s daily bulletin are merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
With the government suspending random testing at all levels, the number of tests conducted daily has fallen drastically. This has proved a big problem in rural areas of North Karnataka, some of which are among the most backward in the state. Although many locals have symptoms, they are refusing to take the Covid-19 test, hindering the fight against the pandemic.
Vidhya Patil, state convener of Madhya Nishedha Andolana, a women’s movement which is now involved in Covid-19 management, said a survey conducted in four panchayats in Raichur district is a pointer. It found that, unlike in the first wave, gram panchayats have no data on returnees from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Telangana, and other states.
“At Jaeger Kallu, Mansalapura, Chiksugur and Yeragera village panchayats at least 20 people have died in the past one week, but these deaths are not accounted as Covid deaths since they were not tested,” Patil said. “A few died at the taluk hospital hours after being admitted but a majority died in their homes.” Patil said villagers are taking medicines from quacks and registered medical transcriptionists (RMT).
Patil said although many residents have symptoms, only a few are coming forward to take the Covid test. The rest fear they would be hospitalized and would die due to shortage of oxygen, ventilators, and medicines. “By halting random testing, the government has stopped identifying these cases,” she said. “This means all positive cases are not being reported.”
Activists say there is a huge discrepancy in data on the Parihara portal, where taluk and district health officials record figures, and that of the state bulletin. On any given day, the state bulletin shows about 75% less cases than that recorded on the Parihara portal.
Dr Maqsood Chandra, who treats patients at home, said in Bidar alone, nearly 50 people are dying every day. He said the people who make clothes for the dead among the Muslim community — there are about three in Bidar — are supplying 20-25 such sets on daily.
“Even some of my patients do not want to get treated in a hospital,” Dr Chandra said. “In one case, it took 10 days for me to convince the patient and his family members that hospitalization was necessary. Unfortunately, the man died. He was not tested postmortem too.”
A health worker in Ramdurg taluk in Belagavi said there has been a sudden increase in patients coming in with severe conditions. Those who die soon after admission are not recorded as Covid deaths since they would not have been tested. He also pointed out that some are dying at home, and families are burying or cremating bodies without official oversight.
Madhu, a resident of Garagadahalli village near Hosadurga in Chitradurga taluk, said Chennabasamma, 45, had died after showing acute Covid symptoms. The woman was cremated on farmland. “Neither the family, nor the patient bothered about the test. Earlier, Asha workers would visit villages and ask people to take the test, but that has stopped,” he said.