Shivamogga DC wants Covid-19 lockdown to be extended by a week

Deputy Commissioner K B Shivakumar has appealed to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to extend lockdown in the district for one more week to reduce the positivity rate further.

He was speaking at a video conference meeting with the chief minister, here on Thursday. He said the Covid-19 positivity rate came down to 9 per cent on June 9 but it was high in April and the number of cases increased from May 6 to May 22. In order to reduce the cases, a strict lockdown was enforced in urban and rural areas. So, the cases came down again. Hence, in order to further reduce the positivity rate, lockdown must be extended for one more week, he said.

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Shivakumar added that active cases have not come down in the district. He also made it clear that there was no dearth of oxygen and other medical facilities in the district.

There are 19 Covid Care Centres in the district and all Covid-19 positive patients are being sent to centres without fail. More than 400 containment zones have been notified and the situation under control, he explained.

He said earlier, cases were more in urban areas in the district and later cases rose in rural areas. Now, both have 50 per cent cases in the district. More than 61 per cent of people aged above 45 years are vaccinated against Covid-19 in the district. Around 84 per cent of front-line workers have been vaccinated and 90 per cent health workers are vaccinated against the virus so far, he added.