Over 50k Covid patients isolated at home in rural Karnataka

The Karnataka government has been encouraging people in rural areas to shift to the Covid Care Centres but at least half the active Covid-19 positive patients are under home isolation.

According to government data as on May 30, about 1.13 lakh people are isolating at home and 50 per cent of them are in rural areas, officials from the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department said.

The government has been encouraging people in villages to shift to the CCCs as a majority of the families do not have access to separate bathrooms and rooms for isolation. However, the government’s push has not seen much response.

In Yadgir, for instance, of the 1,398 active cases, only 32 are in the CCCs while 1,226 are isolating at home. In Raichur, of the 3,461 cases, 774 are in the CCCs, while 2,107 are in home isolation. A similar situation persists in the majority of the districts.

In Mysuru, of the 15,079 active cases, only 334 people have made use of the CCCs, while 11,735 are in home isolation, and in Tumakuru, of the 11,835 cases, only 613 are in the CCCs, whereas 9,758 people are in home isolation, the government data revealed.

Read | During Covid-19 third wave, parents may be allowed into wards to look after kids

According to officials, there is a lot of hesitancy among people in rural areas to get admitted to the Covid Care Centres. RDPR principal secretary L K Atheeq said in spite of the government’s efforts, many were reluctant. “There is a lot of fear about going to the hospital, as people feel that once admitted, they will lose control over their health,” he said.

Chittapur MLA and former minister Priyank Kharge pointed out that many farmers do not want to go to the CCCs at this juncture as this is the season for agricultural activities and they want to be able to go to their farms. Hence, even though unwell, many continue to remain at home. “The government should have made it mandatory to get admitted to the CCCs much earlier,” he said.

The state government has recently created mobile clinics, apart from constituting Family Task Forces, in order to address this. These teams are meant to ensure that those infected and those who do not have adequate space at their homes, are moved to the CCCs.