Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (KR)

Udupi, May 18: Deputy commissioner (DC) G Jagadeesha said that during his meetings with the chief minister, chief secretary and the Prime Minister (PM), DCs were directed to take the initiative to tackle the coronavirus situation. He also said that the PM has also asked to safeguard the villages from the deadly virus.

Addressing media on Tuesday May 17, he said, “We will work according to the government’s decision from May 24. As of now we have not prepared any separate guidelines for the district. According to me, wedding functions are an issue. We have received many complaints about wedding function. Organisers take permission for 40 guests and there are more guests in attendance. Henceforth, we will have to keep an eye in the night time as well. There should not be any violation at village level. Our priority is to save our people in these places. We have less medical facilities in our district, so we have to check more people and identify the affected persons. Timely medical aid should reach them and that is our motive.

“On an average since the last 15 days, we have conducted around 2,800 tests per day. Positivity rate has also increased. Since the last 7 days, the positivity rate has reached nearly 34%. Depending on the day's outcome, we will come to know where we have reached. As there is lockdown, positivity rate is coming down slowly.

“I request the public to stay alert and take all precautions. We have 1,200 oxygen beds, and there are no issues with Remdesivir or any other medicines. ICU beds are increased to 136 from 90. Apart from Udupi, Kundapur, and Karkala, we do not have any such big cities. But currently, we can see the spread of the virus across the district. Initially, we saw positive cases in Udupi and Manipal which later spread across the district. By the end of April, the positivity rate in Udupi district was 14%.

"Cases increased when people came from outside the district and state. Now there is more vigilance at village level. For this, 67 teams with special vehicles for swap collections have been arranged. The teams will do all necessary arrangements at the spot wherever necessary.

“Our district gets nearly 8.5 metric tonne (MT) oxygen. We have requested for 10 MT. If we receive up to 10 MT oxygen, then we can increase 25 more ICU beds. Currently on a daily basis, we are getting the allocated quota of oxygen.

“We have arranged 2,000 beds at Covid care centres and nearly 106 people are being treated over there. This can be utilized for corona-positive patients who wish to shift to Covid care centres. By doing this, the spread of the virus within families and neighbourhood can be reduced. Our Covid care centres are having full-fledged medical staff to look after the inmates. Separate wards are there for males and females.

“So far, we have not received any complaints about black fungus. If we come across any case, we will definitely make necessary arrangements for the same. These are found at places where there is more usage of steroids. There is lesser usage of steroids in our district,” he said.