BENGALURU: Effective enforcement of the lockdown in Karnataka has helped the state keep the rise in number of fresh COVID-19 positive cases significantly lower than the national figure. Karnataka has, on an average, added 10 cases per day in the last 17 days as compared to a whopping national average of 401 cases per day ever since the nationwide lockdown was implemented.
Since March 24, when the lockdown was enforced, till April 10, Karnataka reported 165 cases, taking the totally tally to 207, which is much less compared to its neighbouring states Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The number of cases across India increased drastically in the same period. Kalaburgi in North Karnataka had reported the first COVID-19 death in India, setting alarm bells ringing in the state as well as the Centre, prompting the state administration to take stringent measures to prevent any significant surge in cases.
Not just the number of cases, Karnataka even seems to have managed to contain the virus spread. “In Karnataka, about 3 per cent of those tested for COVID-19 are found to be positive while it is around 6-7 per cent in many other states, including Maharashtra and Kerala,” pointed out Dr C N Manjunath, Director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, and member of the expert committee which presented a report to the government on steps to be taken after April 14. According to him, effective and aggressive enforcement of the lockdown, contact tracing and quarantining, identifying clusters with high number of cases and taking containment measures helped the state keep the numbers down.
No evidence to suggest community spread in the state, says health dept official
“Health, Revenue and Police department officials are doing a great job in terms of contact tracing, which is a very tough task. That also played a major role in containing the spread,” Dr Manjunath said. As of Friday, a total of 7,975 samples were collected for testing, of which 7,673 tested negative and 207 turned out to be positive.
The state is also planning to further ramp up testing in the next twothree days. “Compared to many other states, Karnataka acted fast and took precautions right from the start by taking several measures like screening of international passengers and quarantining,” said Dr C Nagaraja, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD).
“The lockdown helped prevent the spread of the virus, ” he added. According to senior officials in the government, effective containment measures also helped prevent community spread. “As of now, there is no evidence to suggest community spread in the state, though contact details of some of those who tested positive are yet to be traced,” said a senior health department official. Sources said the number of positive cases in the state is steadily increasing and may further increase as more tests are carried out across Karnataka.