UDUPI: There is some good news from Udupi district. The Covid- 19 test positivity rate (TPR) that stood at 26 per cent initially has come down to 15 per cent this week. Sustained field activity, like fever camps and surveys, will be continued to bring TPR further down, health department sources said.
WHO guidelines state that the disease is under control if the positivity rate is 5 percent or less. But Udupi is still far away from reaching that goal. Many people TNIE spoke to over the last one week felt that asymptotic people need not go for a Covid test.
But DHO Dr Sudhirchandra Sooda said that all those who are primary contacts of Covid patients should undergo tests, as the positivity rate among asymptotic is 65 per cent in Udupi. The district administration is collecting around 1,600 swab samples every day and releasing 800 results.
Though the situation is under control in Udupi with a good recovery rate, people with comorbidities, like kidney ailment and cardiac disease, staying away from getting tested is resulting in deaths, said health department sources. In all, 70 people have died due to Covid- 19 in Udupi.