Bengaluru
Karnataka saw a slight dip in new Covid-19 cases with 7,866 people testing positive on Tuesday against the figures of 9,000 plus last week. With Monday’s cases, the caseload reached 4,12,190 and active cases stood at 96,918. The state saw 146 fatalities taking the death toll to 6,680.
Bengaluru figures remain high with 3,102 people testing positive. The city recorded 55 deaths taking the toll to 2,266. Mysuru, Ballari, Dharwada and Dakshina Kannada recorded over 300 cases. But Shivomogga sprang a surprise with no cases being recorded on Tuesday. Reports indicate Karnataka’s rural areas now account for a quarter of the state’s Covid-19 burden.
Shalini Rajneesh, state nodal officer for Covid-19 testing and additional chief secretary, was quoted in the media as saying, “There are nearly one lakh corona cases in rural areas of the state.” Despite this, no district-wise break-up is available. The jump in cases in rural areas is due to movement of people. Instances of villagers declining to undergo tests and not following isolation protocols only make pandemic management more difficult, experts say. “Many people have returned to villages in Karnataka from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, other northern states and Bengaluru. It was bound to happen. However, the medical infrastructure in rural areas is not on par with facilities in urban centres, which is a concern,” said Dr CN Manjunath, chairperson, Covid-19 expert panel.
