Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Jul 18: The nature of coronavirus spread in the district has been undergoing a change. In the past, COVID normally was witnessed among people who came from other states. But of late, the virus is spreading more and more from other districts. Importantly, ten percent of positive cases here are spreading through primary contacts, said health officer and district COVID nodal officer, Dr Prashanth Bhat.

"As much as 20 percent of the cases have come from other districts. More such cases are expected. In the recent past, people who do not show symptoms of the disease when crossing into the district, begin to show symptoms thereafter. As people coming from other districts do not have home quarantine, chances of spreading the disease to other family members is more.

Another thing is that managing quarantine in the district has become a challenging task. As at July 16, 38 persons have been kept at isolation ward in houses and treated, he stated. He said that using of a toilet that has been used once by the patient passes the infection. Corona warriors from the district like doctors, nurses, ASHA workers and police personnel are falling prey to this infection.

Another complicated development is that finding the root cause of the infection has become very difficult. The question of from whom the primary contact got the infection is hard to reply. On the basis of cases which were handled in the district, in the case of people coming from other districts, the infection spreads to other family members. Chances of people with lung infection, people having cancer, those having other complicated conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure getting detected with infection when checking for other diseases are more. When corona is found late, the infection would have already spread to close ones.

There is shortage of ventilators in district hospital. Poor people find it difficult to get treatment. District health officer, Dr Sudhir Chandra Sooda says that there is a shortage of ventilators in the district government hospital, Dr TMA Pai Hospital etc. He says that the district, which has 50 ventilators, is in need of 50 more ventilators, and this proposal has been sent to the government. In the district hospital, 65 centralized oxygen facility is available for 110 beds and 100 oxygen units are required.

Sooda says that unless the people themselves get aware of the need to be alert, spread of the disease cannot be arrested. While the district administration says that there is high incidence of getting cured, there is also a need to file cases against those who do not provide COVID treatment on time.