With around 50,000 active Covid-19 cases, Karnataka is steadily witnessing a per day count of a little over 3,000 positive cases, bringing huge relief to the B.S. Yediyurappa government which had faced flak over increasing cases.
In June, the state had just over 176 active cases. However, by July, it had gone up to a whopping 6,297 cases, from where it went further to over 8,000 cases per day, taking the tally to over 8 lakh cases by October. The alarming increase in cases had even prompted the Union government to send a Central team to the state for medical management.
However, cases have drastically decreased in the state after CM Yediyurappa gave Dr Sudhakar the medical portfolio. Reacting to the decline in cases, Dr Sudhakar told The Daily Guardian: “Robust contact tracing, enhanced testing resulting in early detection of cases, awareness campaigns, and stringent enforcement of precautionary measures are the main factors behind improving the Covid-19 situation in the state. Under the leadership of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the entire government and all our corona warriors are working relentlessly to mitigate the pandemic.”
Karnataka is consistently conducting more than 1 lakh tests per day, out of which, more than 80% are RT-PCR tests. “Our state is conducting 1,550 tests per day per million population which is the third highest in the entire country and way above the 140 tests per day per million prescribed by the WHO,” he said.
Since 15 October, the number of daily recoveries has outnumbered the number of new cases. In the last 14 days, more than 6.5 lakh contacts have been traced, including 3,32,938 primary contacts and 3,23,051 secondary contacts. With 8,053 recoveries and 3,652 new cases, Karnataka has witnessed more recoveries than new cases for 18 consecutive days.
“Taking cue from what happened in Kerala due to Onam, we ensured that the Dasara festival would not lead to a spike in cases. Timely measures were taken well ahead of the world-famous Dasara celebrations at Mysuru which attracts thousands of tourists. I personally visited Mysuru at least four times to ensure that all precautionary steps were implemented strictly,” the minister said.
“I am glad that the situation is getting better each day. However, we must not forget that the virus thrives on our complacency and negligence. Many districts have witnessed heavy rains recently. The winter season is also approaching fast. The next 2-3 months are very crucial in defeating the pandemic. I urge people to continue to follow all preventive measures like wearing masks, washing hands frequently and maintaining social distance,” he concluded.
However, when this publication quizzed a top doctor who is also part of the task force on decreasing cases, he was more apprehensive and critical. “There is little bit of political management here, apart from medical management, which has also played a role in the downward trend in the Covid caseload. The administration is not strictly adhering to protocols. People are also to be blamed as they are not volunteering the way they used to during the early stages of pandemic. There is a public sentiment that Covid is just like any other virus and that the infected will recover within seven days. So they are taking it easy even after showing symptoms. They come to the hospital only when it becomes severe. If you look at the number of patients in the ICU and compare it to earlier statistics, you will get an idea that there is a decrease in the number of cases. My fear is the swelling numbers over the next few months,” he said, on condition of anonymity.