Mysuru’s COVID-19 death toll has become a big worry for the district administration which has expressed serious concern over the people not turning up voluntarily for testing in spite of showing symptoms which is eventually resulting in deaths among patients with serious health ailments.
Out of 128 deaths reported so far, nearly 33 occurred within 24 hours of the patients’ admission to hospitals and 11 were brought dead. Among the victims were patients aged between 30-40 years. The dead are turning COVID-19 positive and the worrying trend has continued.
The deaths and spike in new infections are more prominent in some pockets of the city and random sampling and testing in those areas led to the uncovering of several new patients which otherwise would have gone unreported.
What has been a cause for concern is lack of support being extended to the efforts being put in for early identification of the infected to flatten the mounting curve.
“It’s difficult to save patients if they are rushed to the hospitals at the last stage. Those with heart ailments, diabetes, hypertension and other serious health complications have to undergo testing immediately after they show up COVID-19 symptoms. Timely testing and treatment is the only way to slow the deaths,” said Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Sankar.
Amidst the alarming rise in cases with three-digit new infections reported almost daily, the challenge is of sourcing the men and materials for the management of containment zones. The district is already facing scarcity of health staff, including doctors. “The onus is also on the people too,” said Mr. Sankar, urging the public to strictly follow the recommended safety precautions without any break.
A lot of awareness is being created in areas dominated by the economically weaker sections and sufficient rapid antigen testing kits are being procured to scale up the testing with intensive screening and testing of the population. CFTRI is also aiding in stepping up the tests.
“Patients aged above 80 and 90 years have recovered from the infection and been discharged from hospitals. There is no need for panic and the people must come forward to get tested without any hesitation. By this way, we can fight the pandemic and not when the serious symptoms onset,” he said, in his FB address.
In cases where the patients are home isolated, less than one per cent of the patients had developed complications. “The personnel at the tele-monitoring centre keep track of the status of home isolated daily. The patients are supposed to monitor their oxygen levels and temperature using the pulse oximeter and the thermometer. The regular monitoring helps us to keep the patients at home safe,” he said.
Mr. Sankar urged the people of Mysuru to support the health authorities when they approach them during ongoing surveys and act responsibly in case of being advised to undergo testing. “Do not avoid testing as early treatment is crucial for stopping the deaths,” he added.
