Govt moves to check Covid toll outside Bengaluru

BENGALURU: About 85 per cent of Karnataka’s Covid-19 fatalities in the past 10 days have occurred outside Bengaluru, and the health department has now directed officials to consider every symptomatic person as a suspected patient and provide treatment without delay.
Overall, the tech capital has recorded the highest number of deaths in the state, but the situation has improved in recent weeks. There is now a greater focus on other regions. A preliminary review of data by the department revealed that most deaths in the districts outside Bengaluru happened because of delays in identifying patients with worsening health. Senior officials said that tracking and testing strategies would be strengthened in these districts.

So far this month, the state has reported 739 deaths — 102 in Bengaluru and 637 in other parts. Dakshina Kannada, which has a smaller population than Bengaluru, accounts for 113, the highest. Health officials, who have been analysing state-wide infection patterns, said that 40 to 50 per cent of the deaths in some districts were linked to late hospitalisations. Lack of awareness among people and clinics’ failure to refer symptomatic people to hospitals are also major reasons.
“Some people view it (Covid) as flu or something. They don’t get tested on time. They panic and seek medical attention only when their symptoms become severe and they develop breathlessness. Physicians find it very difficult to treat cases turning up so late,” said health and family welfare commissioner KV Thrilok Chandra.
He added: “We’ve found that people go for local treatment. Anyone with symptoms should be treated as a suspected case. We’ve been sending mobile teams and asking doctors to upload the results. Some clinics are not following protocol. The government is cracking down in such instances.”
In a heartening sign, some districts are reporting a few or zero deaths. Yadgir has not seen fatalities in the past 25 days. “We’ve a population of 14.3 lakh, and 12 lakh people live in rural areas. About 1,000 ASHA workers conduct door-to-door checks there. The idea is to create awareness, the strategy we used for polio vaccination,” said Yadgir district health officer Indumati Patil.