Karnataka: Dakshina Kannada sees 70% of July’s Covid cases in 14 days of August

MANGALURU: In an indication of just how imperative restrictions and Covid appropriate behavior are in the district, Dakshina Kannada recorded nearly 70% of the Covid-19 cases it recorded in the whole of July in the past 14 days of August alone. The gradual rise in cases — the positivity rate is now more than 4% — in the past four weeks has been keeping district health officials on their toes.
The district, which recorded 7,488 cases in July, has already reported 5,163 cases in August. In the first fortnight of July, it recorded only 3,363 positive cases.
The positivity rate was 3.1% between July 14 and July 20, but it rose to 3.7% and 5.1% before falling to 4% respectively in the next three weeks. The active caseload has also increased from 1,933 on July 14 to 3,682 on August 14 — a 90% increase.
The district administration attributes the rise to a spillover from Kerala and together with help from the health department and police, officials have been focusing on interstate commuters from Kasaragod and other parts of Kerala, where the positivity rate is far higher compared to Dakshina Kannada. Kasaragod district alone had 6,331 active cases as on Saturday.
Dr BV Rajesh, reproductive and child health officer, Dakshina Kannada district, told TOI that the emphasis is now on administering vaccines in border villages.
“Following directions from chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, we launched special vaccination drives in villages near the border with Kasaragod district,” he said. “Meanwhile, we will continue our inoculation drives for priority sectors and to administer second doses for people who are eligible to take the second dose. We have been receiving sufficient stock of vaccines and the government has promised to send more from next week. A consignment of 25,200 doses is expected to arrive on Monday. Majority of the available stock will be reserved to vaccinate people in border villages.”
As on Saturday, the district had administered 12.9 lakh vaccine doses, while the district has a target population of 18 lakh. Nearly 3.1 lakh have received both doses so far, Dr Rajesh said.