SHIVAMOGA, DAVANAGERE: There is a sudden drop in the number of Covid cases in rural areas, with Shivamogga and Davanagere districts reporting a record low cases on Thursday. The districts are steadily moving towards unlocking from June 21.
In Shivamogga, the number of cases dropped from 335 on June 15 to just 130 on June 16. Till June 13, the number of cases was between 400 and 500. The number dipped to 399 on June 14, followed by a sharp slide in the next two days. However, the number of cases recorded in Shivamogga and Bhadravathi taluks is high in the past week -- on June 14 and 15, Shivamogga recorded 128 and 118 cases respectively, and Bhadravathi recorded 87 and 73 cases respectively. While the number of cases dropped on June 16 -- 62 in Shivamogga taluk and 29 in Bhadravathi taluk -- it remained high compared to other taluks, which recorded single-digit cases. Only Shikaripura recorded 15 cases.
According to sources, the rain is also checking people’s movement in the past four or five days, and may have contributed to flattening the curve.The death rate, too, has come down drastically from the earlier figure of 7-8 per day, to 4, in the past four days.The week-long extension of lockdown in Shivamogga is now showing results. In all, 10 districts where the positivity rate was 9-10 per cent, had gone into extended lockdown.
Asha workers play big role
After the peak in positive cases in mid-May and first week of June, when the positivity rate had reached 38 per cent, Davanagere district is seeing a decline in the number of cases. Positivity rate was 12 per cent on Thursday.The district took active interest in tracking, testing and treating patients through its Asha workforce. With the help of the panchayat, revenue and health officials, besides politicians, they were successful in changing the mindset of the rural population who moved towards Covid Care Centres.
Patient discharge rate has steadily increased to 96 per cent. There was a great deal of resistance from villagers. District surveillance officer Dr GD Raghavan said, “Intensive case search at the doorstep of contacts and suspects, including triaging, helped in treatment and quick recovery of patients.”The district, which saw thousands of cases on a single day, reported 153 cases on Thursday, 207 on Wednesday, 183 on Tuesday and 391 on Sunday -- an indication that the trend is on the decline. Mortality rate in Davanagere stood at 1.12 per cent.