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Business News/ News / India/  Nearly half of Karnataka households need regular health monitoring
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Nearly half of Karnataka households need regular health monitoring

A recent survey highlighted disparities that have contributed to regional imbalances in favour of southern districts
  • Over 4.8 million homes had senior citizens, persons with co-morbid conditions or other conditions that require care
  • Photo: PTIPremium
    Photo: PTI

    BENGALURU : Nearly one in two households in Karnataka has people who need constant health monitoring, a government survey found, posing a new challenge to the state government trying to keep coronavirus infections under control while reopening the state.

    Findings of the survey, released late on Tuesday, were published on Karnataka Health Watch Mobile app and web application, developed by State covid-19 War Room & Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre.

    The figures are expected to increase pressure on the state’s inadequate health infrastructure and put the focus on regional imbalances.

    Out of an estimated 11.68 million households in Karnataka, 64%, or 10.8 million households, were surveyed since the beginning of May. The survey found that more than 4.8 million homes had senior citizens, persons with co-morbid conditions, flu-like symptoms or respiratory issues, and pregnant and lactating women. Nearly 2 million such households are located in the 12 northern districts forming the Belagavi and Kalaburagi divisions.

    The survey, conducted by 50,000 people, including teachers and booth-level officials, aimed at identifying these categories—classified as vulnerable to covid-19— as the state prepares to ease curbs with the fourth phase of the lockdown ending on 31 May.

    The survey results highlight the disparity that has contributed to regional imbalances, largely skewed in favour the southern districts, especially the state’s growth engine, Bengaluru.

    Robust health infrastructure in Bengaluru has helped the city better control the spread of covid-19 and push up recovery rates. However, other districts have not been as fortunate.

    Karnataka confirmed 101 covid-19 positive cases till noon on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 2,282. Most people testing positive are returnees from other states, especially Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.

    The state is also drawing up plans to do away with institutional quarantine and treat the epidemic as “part of our daily lives".

    “It can’t be all institutional quarantine. Every week, there are changes and our system of quarantine also has to change," said K. Sudhakar, Karnataka’s medical education minister.

    Karnataka is at the seventh position in Human Development Index (HDI) for the country. But only three out of the 30 districts in the state have HDI rating above 0.651, classified as good performance, while more than 17 are in the low or moderate performance categories, according to the 2019-20 Economic Survey of Karnataka.

    The disparity is also huge in terms of per capita income, which is likely to have a bearing on managing the disease and is likely to add to the challenges the state government will face.

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    Published: 27 May 2020, 01:42 AM IST
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