Kodagu has sought increased allocation of vaccines for giving jabs on priority to the eligible population living in villages bordering Kerala over the fears of spread from the neighbouring State which has been reporting continuous surge in cases.
The Kerala spike has impelled the district administration to seal its borders and permit entry only to those carrying RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours. The surveillance has become stringent after a strict diktat from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who recently reviewed the COVID-19 situation in districts bordering Kerala.
Kodagu is yet to complete the first dose to its entire population. As a precaution, it wanted to complete the first dose on priority in border villages. In this connection, District Health Officer Mohan urged the State Task Force on COVID-19 during a video conferencing for increasing the allocation of vaccines to the district for stepping up the drive in the border villages.
Dr. Mohan told The Hindu that cases are on the decline but the district continues to be on alert. as it shares its border with Kerala. All border checkposts are on alert with strict guidelines on entry. Rapid Antigen Test is done randomly at the checkposts besides compulsory test being done for those having symptoms. “We are prepared for stepping up vaccination and therefore increasing the allocation of vaccines has been sought,” he said.
In Kodagu, 59.39 per cent of population (4,02,560) aged above 18 years have received their first dose so far. The total number of beneficiaries receiving both the doses was 88,024 (21.87 per cent).
