Karnataka village stamps out Covid cases with self-enforced curbs

Katagi Shahapur has had zero Covid cases reported this week as a result of self-enforced containment measures

While Karnataka may be heading towards more stringent lockdown measures as fresh daily Covid-19 cases continue to stay high, a village in the Yadgir taluk has stamped out the disease completely by enforcing strict self-containment measures since the onset of the second wave of the pandemic, the New Indian Express reported.

The residents of Katagi Shahapur village have not seen a single case of Covid-19 this week as a result of implementing strict protocols that they had put in place at the onset of the first wave last year as well.

“Initially, nine cases were reported in Katagi Shahapur. No fresh cases have been reported from May 16,” Ramakrishna Reddy, Medical Officer at the Hattikuni Primary Health Centre, covering the village, told the publication. “During random RT-PCR testing conducted on the villagers last month, only nine cases were reported, all asymptomatic in nature. On Sunday, the reports came negative after a retest. Random RT-PCR testing will be conducted in the village after some days.”

The villagers, however, said that they had not had a single case. They claimed that they had taken precautions since the initial rumblings of the second wave and had prohibited all movement inside the village, except for lighting lamps at village temples.

Also read: Karnataka Home Minister indicates stricter implementation of lockdown measures in days to come

A local told the newspaper that the elders of the village had called a meeting after witnessing the horrifying tales of people from Yadgir and other districts dying due to Covid and the shortage of oxygen and Remdesivir, deciding to disallow people from coming in or going out of the village.

“Katagi Shahapur villagers are health conscious and hence volunteered to take such strict measures. We did not force them to implement a lockdown,” Yadgir tax officer Chennamallappa told the publication.

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday hinted that law enforcement would tighten the implementation of lockdown measures, including the seizure of vehicles, in days to come, citing the growing spread of the virus in rural areas.