Mangaluru/Udupi: Covid-19 cases continued to surge in Dakshina Kannada(DK) and Udupi with the two districts recording 400 out of 5,027 positive cases that Karnataka reported on Saturday. While Dakshina Kannada contributed to 218 of the cases, Udupi reported 188 fresh cases. The Covid-19 related deaths continued unabated in DK with the district administration reporting eight more fatalities on Saturday.
The fresh cases meant that DK fortified its number two position in the state after Bengaluru Urban with 4,612 positive cases while the total positive cases in Udupi stood at 3,218. The total number of Covid and non-Covid related deaths in DK inched closer to the dubious 100 mark with 99 deaths so far, including 97 categorised as Covid and Covid-related and two due to non-Covid reasons.
Backing efforts of the district administration in handling the pandemic, district minister Kota Shrinivas Poojari said it is rather unfortunate that people with high co-morbidities in the last stage of their lives are being referred for treatment in the district that is a tertiary care centre. “This is a situation that the district authorities, despite the best of medical facilities, is finding difficult to handle,” Kota said, adding medical experts are doing their best to save lives.
A total 87 of the 218 cases in DK were categorised as people suffering from influenza-like illness (ILI), and the source of how 70 people contracted the disease is being traced, 46 are primary contacts of infected patients, and 15 are diagnosed as suffering from severe acute respiratory infection (SARI). Seven of the eight victims who died on Thursday and Friday are residents of Mangaluru, and the eighth one, a 53-year-old woman, is from Manjeshwar, said deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh.
The discharge of 140 patients during the day meant active cases in DK now stands at 2,370 and total patients discharged thus far is 2,127. Udupi on the other hand has 1,199 active cases with 2,008 patients discharged thus far, including 79 patients on Saturday. In all, 539 patients are in home quarantine, Udupi DC G Jagadeesha said. The respective district administrations reminded the people that the Sunday lockdown will be in force on July 26.