One in three homes in Karnataka vulnerable to Covid-19 virus

BENGALURU: At least one in every three households in Karnataka is vulnerable to Covid-19, an analysis of data obtained from an ongoing door-to-door survey conducted by the state government shows. The data also shows one in every 34 vulnerable homes has a person with at least one comorbidity.

The survey is being conducted to build a database on the population vulnerable to infection.This data will help evolve strategies to curb the spread of infection even as both the Centre and state relax lockdown norms. As TOI reported earlier, experts working with the government have been stressing on the need to change strategy especially given the high recovery rate seen among healthy adults in the state. They say the focus should be on vulnerable populations.
As per the government, all households with people above 60 years of age, those with comorbidities, senior citizens with BP, diabetes and heart problems, pregnant or lactating women and those with breathlessness, cough and fever are considered vulnerable.
Government estimates show there are about 1.7 crore households in the state, and as on Tuesday night, 50.7 lakh of them have been put under the Covid-19 health watch as they have at least one vulnerable person. Further, in the 50.7 lakh households, there are 1.5 lakh persons with comorbidity, including 13,341 people with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) or influenza like illness (ILI).
“Once vulnerable households are identified, the plan is to give them more support and keep a track of them through Asha and anganwadi workers. After the first round, follow-up rounds will be done on vulnerable households,” a senior government official said.
As of Tuesday night, the government had completed surveying about 1.1 crore households. The survey has identified 48.3 lakh people above the age of 60 and more than 4.1 lakh women who are pregnant or lactating.
So far, of the 45 Covid-19 deaths recorded in the state, all have had comorbidities and at least 16 have had SARI/ILI. Of the 45 deaths, 28 or 62% are people aged above 60 years, while another 12 (27%) are between 50 years and 60 years.
Dr MK Sudharshan, a public health expert and member of Karnataka’s special Covid-19 committee, while suggesting that a high number of asymptomatic cases is a good thing for the state, said: “A high percentage of asymptomatic cases shows that the immune system of the majority, especially healthy, young adults, is robust enough to overcome the virus. This means that we can now focus more on the vulnerable population.”
Further, he had said that those (high-risk) with respiratory disorders or influenza among other illnesses will need to be the priority besides senior citizens and pregnant women, if the state wants to continue maintaining a low fatality rate. As of Wednesday evening, the fatality rate in Karnataka was under 2%.