BAGALKOT: Bagalkot district, which had one of the worst fatality rates in the state in July at 4.2 per cent, has now changed the scenario by recording a death rate of less than 1 per cent.
The efforts of the district health authorities have paid off, and the numbers have come down considerably.
The district reported two Covid deaths and 144 positive cases on Saturday, taking the tally to 6,881 positives, 1,007 active cases and 5,794 recoveries. Over 50 per cent of the positive cases are from villages in the district. The rural areas in Badami, Mudhol and Hungund are the worst-affected.
Speaking to TNIE, District Health Officer Dr Ananth Desai said that bringing down the fatality rate in rural areas was the biggest challenge.
“In June and July, cases were at their peak in rural areas, as most patients were migrants returning to their hometowns from Maharashtra and Goa. People were afraid to get tested and would come to the hospital only after failing to recover from taking self-prescribed medicines. As we received critical Covid patients late, it was difficult to save their lives. This was one of the main reasons for the high fatality rate in the initial days.”
However, health officers succeeded in convincing the villagers to get tested early.
“By creating awareness and educating them about the virus, we could persuade them to get tested. This helped us detect cases early and provide timely treatment,” Dr Desai added.
According to the war room report, fatalities in the district were being reported at a rate of 0.6 per cent for the past one week. Meanwhile, Haveri has the worst fatality rate at 3.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, Bagalkot is among the top five districts to have the highest recovery rate in the state.