Schools and colleges in Dakshina Kannada will not re-open along with those in other parts of Karnataka as the average test positivity rate in the district continues to be around 5%, said Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra in Mangaluru on August 11.
During a ‘Meet the press’ programme at Press Club, Dr. Rajendra said schools and colleges in Dakshina Kannada will not be reopened for physical classes on August 23. “The positivity rate is presently high, and reopening in the district is likely to be delayed,” he said.
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With a series of festivals lined up, starting with Nagara Panchami and followed by Ganesh Chaturthi, Dr. Rajendra said people should continue to celebrate in their houses and avoid congregating at temples and other public places. No special sevas will be allowed and temples will be restricted only to darshan. There will be a bar on installing Ganesh idols in public places, he said.
The Independence Day celebrations, he said, will also be low-key, and there will be no public congregations. Police will allow only those invited for the celebrations on August 15 when weekend curfew will be in force, he said.
A series of festivals, including Onam, will make it challenging for the district administration to keep COVID-19 under control as there will be an increase in the number of people travelling between Dakshina Kannada and neighbouring Kasaragod in Kerala where COVID-19 cases are on the rise. “It is difficult to keep a close watch on movement across the border districts. I earnestly call upon people to rigorously follow COVId-19 Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) and get themselves tested when they have symptoms,” he said. Positive patients should make better use of COVID-19 Care Centres.
While an average of 8,000 RT-PCR tests were being done every day in the 11 centres in the district over the last few days, Dr. Rajendra said 90% of the test results are made available within 24 hours of removal of the swab. There was no proposal to restart the testing facility at Talapady and other border checkposts.
Stating that the test positivity of those arriving without latest RT-PCR test report at Mangaluru Central, Mangaluru Junction, Surathkal and Ullal railway stations was 0.6%, Dr. Rajendra said the tests at railway stations are a small part of the overall RT-PCR tests being done in the district to detect, treat and stop the spread of COVID-19 from Kerala.
An average of about 15,000 persons were being given the vaccine every day in the last few days, Dr. Rajendra said while a demand has been made to release about 2 lakh doses to complete vaccination of vulnerable populations in the district.
While stating that the few cases of Delta and Eta variants of COVID-19 detected in Dakshina Kannada were not of concern, Dr. Rajendra said the district was better placed to handle any likely complication among children. The Regional Advanced Paediatric Care Centre of Government Wenlock Hospital has been made the nodal centre to handle cases of children, and all three levels of health facilities in the district are capable of treating children.
