This story is from May 3, 2021

Karnataka: Positivity rate of Kodagu soars to 27%

Kodagu, which virtually escaped unscathed during the first wave of the pandemic, is now facing a monumental problem as one in every four people tested in the district is returning positive.
Karnataka: Positivity rate of Kodagu soars to 27%
Picture used for representational purpose only
MYSURU: Kodagu, which virtually escaped unscathed during the first wave of the pandemic, is now facing a monumental problem as one in every four people tested in the district is returning positive.
In a week, Kodagu district’s positivity rate spiked to 27.4% — the highest in the state. Mysuru, at 22.7%, jumped to second place. Positivity rate is the number of positive cases per 100 tests.
State Covid-19 War Room data shows that after Kodagu and Mysuru the positivity rate between April 24 and 30 was higher that the state average in Chikkamagaluru (19.9%), Hassan (19.8%) and Chamarajanagar (19.3%), while Shivamogga (17.8%) was equal to the state average.
Only Mandya district (17.6%) in South Karnataka had a lower rate than the state average.
Dr Mohan, Kodagu DHO, blamed the surge on returnees from Bengaluru. “People are not following the Covid-appropriate behavior. Those who came from places where infections were high are spreading the virus by freely mixing with people,” Dr Mohan said.
Appachu Ranjan, Madikeri MLA, said the only solution is to seal borders. “During the lockdown last year, borders were shut and so infections were under control. It’s not the case this year. People are returning and its causing infections to spread. If the border is closed for a week, infections will come down,” Ranjan said. He said returnees are not staying in quarantine and are mingling with others. He said he has raised the issue with chief secretary P Ravi Kumar. “We will take a decision on tightening rules soon,” he said.
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