Covid positivity rate in 24 districts goes up to 20%

Bengaluru: As the Covid-19 cases continue to spike, data shows that nearly 65 per cent of the cases are being reported from outside Bengaluru.

Between May 6-12, apart from Bengaluru, 24 districts had a positivity rate of more than 20 per cent. Bengaluru’s figure during this period was 29 per cent. Whereas, Uttara Kannada and Ballari had positivity rates of 38% and 35% respectively.

Senior officials of the health department have given a warning. An official said, “Everything depends on the data that is presented. The lockdown may have slowed the spread of the virus in the city. But what is alarming is that the Covid count is spiralling outside Bengaluru.”

Cases are increasing in rural areas at a rapid rate. This is now putting a burden on rural healthcare systems which lack resources. The surge is associated with the movement of people from the state capital to their hometowns, authorities’ failure to increase testing and containment efforts, village fairs, large weddings, people’s disregard for basic protocols and vaccine hesitancy.

Opposition parties criticise that the government’s Bengaluru-centric Covid management and underreporting have led to such a situation. “Earlier this year, around 4,000 tests were being conducted daily in the district. Cases have increased now, but the number of RT PCR tests has been reduced to 1,600 per day. It’s the same in the Belagavi district, where daily tests have reduced from 6,000 to 2,500. Many people with Covid symptoms are not subjected to tests, and this is unfortunate”, said Congress member and former minister MB Patil.

In the last seven days, Hassan has witnessed nearly 10,000 cases, while Uttara Kannada, Kodagu and Hassan have reported 5,000 and 4,000 cases respectively. 48,000 people are home quarantined in Tumakuru. The fatality rate in the state has been 1 per cent in the last seven days. However, Haveri, Ballari and Shivamogga crossed 1.5 per cent.

Karnataka government has now turned their focus to places outside the tech capital and is revising its treatment protocols. Covid ministerial task force chaired by deputy chief minister CN Ashwath Narayan, on Saturday, decided to set up isolation facilities in rural areas so that patients avoid spreading infection in their families.