BENGALURU: A comparative analysis of three southern states — Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka — in terms of positive cases and deaths in the months of August 2020 and 2021, shows that Karnataka has done better in August 2021 than the other states.
The number of positive cases from August 1-28, 2020, in Karnataka was 2,11,813, however, in the same month during the second wave, the number of positive cases reported was 40,862.
The number of cases in Tamil Nadu also reduced -- 1,63,379 cases were reported in August 2020, but the number was 50,702 in August 2021. In sharp contrast, Kerala reported 45,691 positive cases in August 2020, and 5,86,811 cases in August 2021.
Similarly, the number of deaths also differs drastically. Karnataka saw 3,275 deaths in August 2020 and 699 deaths in the past month. Tamil Nadu saw 3,115 deaths last August, and 780 deaths this month. The pattern in Kerala is different: 201 deaths last August, and 3,685 deaths this August.
According to an analysis by Jeevan Raksha, an initiative of Proxima which focuses on health care, the Case Fatality Rate for August 2021 in Karnataka remains high at 1.7 per cent, compared to Tamil Nadu’s 1.5 per cent, and Kerala’s 0.6 per cent.
Sanjeev Mysore, convener, Jeevan Raksha, said, “Due to high density of population in Kerala, there is no major urban-rural divide. The surge is uniform across all 14 districts of the state. In Karnataka, the situation is entirely different. Bengaluru Urban alone contributes 42% of the total Covid cases and deaths, while the remaining 29 districts contribute 58%. The CFR is high in the rest of Karnataka than in Bengaluru, the primary reason being delay in testing and non-availability of RT-PCR testing in smaller towns and villages.”
The study shows that from August 16-22, 2021, 1,249 people succumbed to Covid-19 -- 893 (71%) in Kerala, 190 (15%) in Tamil Nadu and 166 (13%) in Karnataka.
The pattern of deaths is also different. In Karnataka, one in four deaths was below the age of 50 years, and out of 166 deaths, 19 deaths were in the 31-40 age group.
In Kerala, one in five deaths was above the age of 80 years, and Tamil Nadu reported one in five deaths in the 51-60 age group.
