State’s recovery rate stands at 76.8%

The recovery rate of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka has been increasing over the last few days and it now stands at 76.8%.

An analysis done by the State COVID-19 war room as of Sunday states that out of the total 4.59 lakh positive cases reported in the State, 3.52 lakh patients have been discharged. The number of active cases in the State as on Sunday was below the 1 lakh mark and stood at 99,203.

Several districts have reported higher recovery rate than the State average. Many of these districts have taken up intensive surveillance activities and are conducting rigorous testing so that COVID-19 positive cases can be detected early and patients with comorbid conditions and senior citizens can get quick medical intervention.

The highest recovery rate has been in Vijayapura, which has recorded 90.8%. Udupi, with a recovery rate of 85.7%, stands second. Eighteen out of 30 districts have a higher recovery rate than the State average. The lowest recovery rate has been reported in Uttara Kannada, with 70.3%. The recovery rate in Bengaluru Urban, which has reported the highest number of cases, stands at 74.5%.

P. Sunil Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Vijayapura, said that they were focusing on keeping the number of positive cases low and trying to effectively contain COVID-19. “If patients have severe symptoms, then we start treatment even before the COVID test results are out,” he said.

G. Jagadeesha, Udupi Deputy Commissioner, said they were focusing on early detection of COVID-19 cases and conducting tests in the vulnerable group so that the primary contacts, symptomatic patients and vulnerable population were tested on time. “Besides conducting health survey, our ASHA workers have been monitoring the oxygen saturation levels of those with comorbidities and if they fall below 95%, they are referring such cases for immediate testing,” he said.

Health experts point out that the State’s recovery rate has spiked after the discharge policy was revised in August. The new discharge policy states that no repeat test is required for asymptomatic, mild and moderate cases at discharge as before. It has reduced the 14-day home isolation after discharge to seven days with self-monitoring.