<p>On Monday, Karnataka reached a grim Covid-19 milestone. It reported 39,305 new cases of Covid infections and 596 related fatalities over the preceding 24 hours; it overtook Maharashtra to emerge as the state with the most daily infections and fatalities. While the number of new infections in the state have fallen in the last few days, there is reason for concern. There are apprehensions that the ‘decline’ in infections is on account of reduced testing rather than a reflection of the reality on the ground. As worrying as the large number of infections is the high positivity rate in the state. According to the Union Health Ministry, 26 of Karnataka’s 31 districts have positivity rates that are higher than the national average. While the national positivity rate is 21%, districts like Uttara Kannada and Ballari show rates of 45.7% and 44.3%, respectively. While Bengaluru Urban has borne the brunt of the pandemic in the state right from its outbreak last year, infections in the districts are growing at an alarming rate in recent weeks. In mid-April, the districts accounted for 30% of Karnataka’s new infections. Fifty-five percent of the new cases reported from Karnataka on Saturday came from the districts. Inter-district travel during the Ugadi festival would have triggered the surge in late April. Added to this, lakhs of people working in Bengaluru returned to their homes in villages and towns when the lockdown was announced. This would have led to the geographic spread of infections to the rest of the state.</p>.<p>Of particular concern is the state of health infrastructure in Karnataka’s small towns and villages. If Bengaluru with its large number of hospitals and health centres has not been able to cope with Covid-19 cases, what hope is there for patients living elsewhere in the state? The death of 23 people over a span of a day in a government hospital in Chamarajanagar due to a shortage of oxygen highlighted the abysmal state of public health infrastructure in Karnataka’s small towns. With the number of new Covid-19 infections surging in the towns, fatalities will grow unless the government prepares better.</p>.<p>Much of Karnataka’s public health infrastructure is concentrated in Bengaluru. Availability of beds, medicines and ventilators in the districts is limited and beyond the reach of most of our population. A pandemic tsunami looms over the districts and the Yediyurappa government must be proactive in building up oxygen and medicine stocks in rural and small town Karnataka.</p>
<p>On Monday, Karnataka reached a grim Covid-19 milestone. It reported 39,305 new cases of Covid infections and 596 related fatalities over the preceding 24 hours; it overtook Maharashtra to emerge as the state with the most daily infections and fatalities. While the number of new infections in the state have fallen in the last few days, there is reason for concern. There are apprehensions that the ‘decline’ in infections is on account of reduced testing rather than a reflection of the reality on the ground. As worrying as the large number of infections is the high positivity rate in the state. According to the Union Health Ministry, 26 of Karnataka’s 31 districts have positivity rates that are higher than the national average. While the national positivity rate is 21%, districts like Uttara Kannada and Ballari show rates of 45.7% and 44.3%, respectively. While Bengaluru Urban has borne the brunt of the pandemic in the state right from its outbreak last year, infections in the districts are growing at an alarming rate in recent weeks. In mid-April, the districts accounted for 30% of Karnataka’s new infections. Fifty-five percent of the new cases reported from Karnataka on Saturday came from the districts. Inter-district travel during the Ugadi festival would have triggered the surge in late April. Added to this, lakhs of people working in Bengaluru returned to their homes in villages and towns when the lockdown was announced. This would have led to the geographic spread of infections to the rest of the state.</p>.<p>Of particular concern is the state of health infrastructure in Karnataka’s small towns and villages. If Bengaluru with its large number of hospitals and health centres has not been able to cope with Covid-19 cases, what hope is there for patients living elsewhere in the state? The death of 23 people over a span of a day in a government hospital in Chamarajanagar due to a shortage of oxygen highlighted the abysmal state of public health infrastructure in Karnataka’s small towns. With the number of new Covid-19 infections surging in the towns, fatalities will grow unless the government prepares better.</p>.<p>Much of Karnataka’s public health infrastructure is concentrated in Bengaluru. Availability of beds, medicines and ventilators in the districts is limited and beyond the reach of most of our population. A pandemic tsunami looms over the districts and the Yediyurappa government must be proactive in building up oxygen and medicine stocks in rural and small town Karnataka.</p>
