Mysore/Mysuru: As COVID Mortality Rate (CMR) is still high at 3.8 percent in Mysuru district, a death audit expert team will be sent to Mysuru to find out reasons, said Health Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar. He was speaking to the media after chairing a meeting to review the COVID situation in the district at Zilla Panchayat auditorium here yesterday.

The Minister said that the mortality rate in the district was still high and the Department wanted to know the reasons for it. In view of this, a death audit expert committee will come to Mysuru soon and a few more technical committees will be constituted to  visit hospitals that had recorded maximum number of deaths. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr. Bagadi Gautham has been asked collect report from the expert panels and instructions have been given to take steps to decrease the mortality rate. Though, the Case Positivity Rate (CPR) has declined when compared to last week,  it was still at 5.48 percent. 

The District Administration  informed him that it was 2.58 percent on Monday which has to be brought down still further, he added.

He said hot spots in Bannur and Periyapatna have been found in Mysuru District and instructions have been given to declare them as Containment Zones. 

The Health Department has identified 20 hot spots in rural areas in the State of which three were in Mysuru district. They are; Aspatre Kaval, Hanagodu and Seehalli. There will be restriction on the movement of people in those places, the Minister added.

More vaccine

When his attention was drawn to the acute shortage of vaccine in the State, Dr. Sudhakar said that he will meet Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan next week and request him to supply more vaccine for the State. “I have never told that the vaccine is not available. Vaccination has not stopped anywhere for want of vaccine. Around 2 lakh to 3 lakh vaccinations are taking place daily. The State has a stock of 5 lakh vaccines. Once the fresh stocks arrives from the Central Government, it will be distributed among all the districts,” he said.

The Minister said that the Health Department has filled up 11 posts of specialists and 31 General Duty Doctors. Besides, 174 doctors have been appointed on contract basis to work in Government facilities for a period of one year. 

They will work in Taluk and District Hospitals. These doctors will be trained to work in the children ICUs so that their services could be utilised in case of third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

Don’t add old data

Dr. Sudhakar strictly instructed officers in-charge of preparing the Daily COVID Bulletin not to include old deaths in the daily list and to maintain total transparency in placing details before the public. It has been observed that the old deaths have been included in the daily report which will naturally show more number of deaths.

DHO hauled up

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. K.H. Prasad was pulled up by the Minister for sharing details with media about the scarcity of vaccine in the district. 

“You don’t share such information with media. The DC will give the necessary information” he said.

Genome sequencing Lab

He said a Genome Sequencing Laboratory will be established at the Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) for the detection of Delta and Delta Plus cases. Such laboratories will be set up in six districts. 

If 10,000 tests are conducted daily, five percent of samples will be sent to these labs. The work of these labs was also to study the mutation of these viruses. So far, only two Delta Plus cases were reported in Karnataka, he added. 

Preventive steps have been initiated in the wake of sudden increase in the cases, the Minister added.

Plea to open all vaccination centres

Meanwhile, K.C. Shoukath Pasha, Former Corporator and Secretary of Mysore Beedi Mazdoor Association, who is also involved in getting the public vaccinated at N.R. COVID Care Centre, at the Central Beedi Hospital in Kalyangiri said that though the Health Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar said that there was no shortage of vaccine during the meeting at Zilla Panchayat here yesterday, why thousands of people, who are coming to get themselves vaccinated at various vaccination centres in city are being sent back citing ‘No stock of vaccines.’ 

DHO Dr. K.H. Prasad has given a clear statement about non availability of vaccines for the general public, but why the Health Minister has restricted Dr. Prasad from issuing any statements on vaccination status to the media and others even though he is the authority, he added.

As hundreds of people coming forward to get themselves vaccinated are being sent back,  he has urged the authorities concerned to open all vaccination centres as the Minister himself had stated that there was no shortage of vaccines.