Covid-19: Udupi keeps its case fatality ratio at 0.87%

UDUPI: At 0.87%, Udupi has the least case fatality ratio (CFR) among all districts on account of Covid19 in Karnataka.
What makes this achievement unique is the fact that the district handles cases on its own unlike Yadgir and Chitradurga, other two districts with similarly low CFR. The above named two districts refer their Covid-19 critical patients to referral facilities in Kalaburagi, Davanagere or Bengaluru as the case may be.
Deputy Commissioner G Jagadeesha said this achievement is the sole result of dedicated and tireless efforts by all frontline Covid-19 warriors. “We have managed all the cases on our own and 0.87% CFR is the net result for health administrators to see and verify,” Jagadeesha told TOI.
The district that as on October 11 recorded 165 deaths with 1965 active cases has tested 1.44-lakh samples out of which 19441 are positive, Jagadeesha said.
The administration is thankful to the government doctors, officials of department of health and family welfare, medical experts, revenue officials for discharging the roles given to them in sync with government’s aspiration to combat its spread. “If the Covid19 deaths are on the lower side in the district, it is primarily due to their efforts in testing, treating and discharging the patients before their condition takes a turn for the worse,” Jagadeesha said.
District Covid19 nodal officer Dr Prashant Bhat said ramped up testing too has helped Udupi keep CFR under check. “We are testing around 2600 samples per day – RTPCR and RAT included,” Dr Bhat told TOI. While this has helped bring down the positivity rate, Dr Bhat said the result of this is seen in absolute terms as well with per day Covid19 positive cases now ranging less than 200 compared to 300 plus not so in the distant past.
Cooperation from private medical facilities in attending to needs of critical Covid19 patients too has helped in ensuring that the CFR stays true to the district’s reputation of being an advanced facility for medical needs, Dr Bhat surmised. Early detection is helping the health department ensure that there are no needless deaths, Dr Bhat said, adding this has also seen numbers of people turning positive or critical due to the virus coming down.