Covid-19 positivity rate high among Kerala students in Dakshina Kannada

As many as 338 students from Kerala tested positive for Covid-19 in Dakshina Kannada (DK) from January till March 14 this year.

Students from Kerala have been attending colleges in the district since December. According to the available statistics, a total of 111 students were confirmed to have tsted positive for Covid in January, 160 students in February and 67 students till March 14. Even after March 14, many students from Kerala are testing positive for the virus.

Since January, more than five colleges in the district have been declared as containment zones. Many hostels too were sealed down following the reporting of more than five Covid-19 cases. The Covid-19 positivity rate of DK in January was 1.02 per cent, while that of the Kerala students was 8.46 per cent. Of 111 positive cases among Kerala students, Mangaluru had major share of 108 cases. while Sullia had three cases. In January, swabs of 1,311 students were tested for the virus.

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The positivity rate in the district in February was 1.14 per cent, while that of the Kerala students was 7.10 per cent. Out of 160 cases, 157 were from Mangaluru and three were from Sullia. A total of 2,252 students’ swabs were tested in February.

In March (till March 14), the positivity rate in the district was 1.18 per cent, while that of the Kerala students was 3.82 per cent. A total of 1,752 students’ swabs were tested. Out of 67 positive cases, 61 are from Mangaluru, five from Bantwal and one from Sullia.

The positivity rate by March-end will shoot up, as Covid cases have been increasing in the district. The district administration’s Covid-19 guidelines were apparently not being strictly adhered to. Though 60 students had tested positive for Covid in a college recently, the management had sent all 800 students to their houses. “This in turn will cause the spread of Covid-19 cases,” sources said.

DK district Nodal officer Dr Ashok said if positive cases were reported in educational institutions, the team from health department immediately initiates steps to check the spread of the virus. If more cases are reported, then the institution will be declared as containment zone. RT-PCR tests of the Kerala students are conducted regularly, he added.