Mysore/Mysuru: The District Health Department is worried over high COVID-positivity rate (Test Positivity Rate) breaching 40 percent over the last 8-10 days in Mysuru District despite imposition of total lockdown. There has been increase in the cases in Mysuru and Nanjangud Taluks. Since the last two days, the positivity rate touched 55 percent, worsening the scenario. 

According to the guidelines issued by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the positivity rate must be within 10 percent. While the State Government wants to bring down the positivity rate by 5 percent, there is no indication of the high positivity rate coming down in Mysuru any time soon. 

The District authorities have observed that increased movement of people to buy essential commodities between 6 am and 10 am in Mysuru and Nanjangud is one of the reasons for the spike in cases. People do not follow COVID guidelines and gather in groups in front of shops and this is causing the cases to spike, said the officials. 

War Room data

As per the data released by District War Room, on Sunday (May 16), 1,980 samples had tested positive out of the total 3,550 samples tested, reporting a positivity rate of whopping 55.77 percent. 

On Monday (May 17), 1,916 samples had tested positive out of the total 3,439 tested in Mysuru reporting a positivity rate of 55.71 percent. 

On Saturday (May 15), the District reported a positivity rate of 42.2 percent and on Friday (May 14), the rate stood at 42.1 percent. 

Taking the War Room data, the District Administration is being questioned why the positivity rate is high despite drastic reduction in RT-PCR testing. 

The District Administration has reduced the daily tests from 7,500 to 3,500. This means that if the testing increases there will be more number of positive cases like it was being reported in the end of April where Mysuru was reporting 3,500 COVID-positive cases daily. 

Breaching ICMR specifications

“We are trying our level best to keep positive rate within 10 percent. That means, less than ten percent of people must report positive of the total 100 tests conducted. Now, over 40 to 55 persons are testing positive for Coronavirus of the total 100 tests. The rate is way beyond the ICMR specification,” noted a Senior Health Officer.

In fact, Mysuru is one among a few districts which has been in red zone category due to high COVID-positivity rate and mortality rate, only after Bengaluru. The number of RT-PCR test has been reduced by almost 50 percent in both city and district on the ground that people are unnecessarily getting it done at free testing sites. This was delaying results of genuine patients. The high testing rate resulted in more number of positive cases — both asymptomatic and symptomatic.

Virus spread in villages

According to the Health Officer, one of the main reasons for the spike in positive rate has been the spread of virus into villages due to influx of people working in Bengaluru consequent to Corona curfew last month. So, the infected persons have spread the virus into rural areas. This has resulted in the surge of positive rate from Taluks. 

The first wave had spared villages due to nationwide Janata Curfew that had stopped the movement of every kind of transport facility. But the second wave has swept across all six Taluks in Mysuru claiming lives as well as infecting large groups of people. Nearly 45 percent of positive cases are reported from taluks, the Officer claimed. 

“Had the rural population initiated measures to prevent the entry of others into their territories, villages would have been safe by now. The situation is so bad that the Taluk Administrations have converted schools, community halls and other public buildings into COVID Care Centres. The rural masses are paying a heavy price for their negligence during initial days of virus outbreak in February-March this year,”  he added.

Officers have stressed the need to extend the current lockdown by another 8 to 10 days in order to check the steady march of virus into rural pockets. Already, the health system is under terrible stress and it may crumble if immediate attention is not given, they said.