Karnataka’s COVID-19 colours raise questions on classification

Karnataka has just three red zones in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural and Mysuru even though there are districts in the state with a high number of cases and doubling rates higher than all the three.

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On Sunday, the government notified the new red zones following central guidelines besides downgrading many to “orange” and “green”, even though several of these districts have more than 10-15 active COVID cases.

On May 1, when the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order regarding the extension of lockdown and classifying the districts into three zones (red, green and orange), the state had 14 “red zone” districts.

Speaking to DH, Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar said that the decision was made following new guidelines by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

“The Government of India has issued these. We have taken all factors into consideration. The number of actual cases, the rate of doubling, extent of testing, preparedness. It was not done on someone’s likes or dislikes. It is based on indicators,” the chief secretary said.

However, according to data from the state’s Department of Health and Family Welfare, the number of cases and doubling rate for many of the districts are higher than Bengaluru Urban, which has been classified as a “red zone”, as is Bengaluru Rural, even though this district has only one active case.

Health Commissioner Pankaj Pandey said the classification of zones is made by the Centre.

“Once a week, there is a list which changes the classification of the zonal list. It is based on data which is not really dynamic,” the Commissioner said.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

When asked if the changing of the classification for several hotspot districts would imperil lives, considering that the statewide lockdown will alter somewhat on Monday, the Commissioner said that his department is focused on the containment areas within the districts, no matter what zone it may belong to.

“We have taken all the stringent precautions. If there needs to be more stringent regulation, it is within our authority to introduce them. Right now, we are waiting and monitoring the situation,” he said.

According to the new zonal list, even Davangere which has had a spate of new cases, has been classified as a green zone.

Munish Moudgil, Director of the State COVID War Room, said these points had been reported to the Centre.

War Room data contradicts War Room map

According to the May 3 COVID War Room daily report, the doubling rate of COVID cases in several orange districts was faster than Bengaluru Urban. Davangere’s doubling rate is the fastest in the state, at just two days.

Tumakuru follows next with four days while Mandya’s doubling rate is 10 days. In contrast, Bengaluru Urban’s doubling rate is 16 days, while Bengaluru Rural’s is 23 days. The doubling rate of Mysuru, another red zone district, is 22 days.