How Karnataka crushed the Covid curve: listen to it from CM BS Yediyurappa

Karnataka has so far reported around 700 cases, of which 354 patients have recovered. (THAT IS TO SAY)

Coronavirus in India: Karnataka is among the few states that have managed to flatten the Covid curve by reporting most recoveries and fewer active cases as of now. As of this morning, the southern state reported 701 positive cases of which 354 patients have recovered, leaving the total number of active cases at only 317. The state has also managed to reduce daily numbers. The last highest peak in a single day was April 17, when the state had recorded 44 cases in one day. Since then, the state has reported 10-30 cases, which is far less than neighboring states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. With such performance, Karnataka has joined the league of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Goa that have reported more recoveries and fewer active cases to date: Goa has zero active cases, all have recovered while Assam has 10 and Kerala has 30 active cases.

Karnataka managed to keep its numbers low primarily because the administration had its response drawn up from the start, Prime Minister BS Yediyurappa says in an interview with The Indian Express. The prime minister said a working group was created under his direct supervision to ensure that all decisions are implemented quickly. He further said that the members of the working group were ministers heading ministries, a move that helped reduce delays in implementing decisions. He also said that Karnataka was probably the first state to establish a COVID-19 War Room.

In giving details of the strategies his administration has been pursuing, Yediyurappa said his team focused on aggressive contact tracing and enforcing the entire block. He said a war room was created to ensure 24×7 monitoring and reporting. The prime minister said he established a well-oiled administrative machinery with 17 committees, each headed by an additional chief secretary to examine various tasks. “Karnataka quickly left the block and began screening international air passengers as early as January 20. We have screened 2 lakh passengers,” the chief minister told IE.

Yediyurappa also explained how his state used technology to combat the pandemic. He said the technology was used to train thousands of doctors and nurses in the shortest possible time. He said the Tele ICU Unit monitored patient data in real time and advised doctors at established hospitals to treat Covid patients.

Karnataka also used traffic video or camera feeds, drone monitoring, and mobile phone data to track confined patient contacts and monitor quarantined citizens. The prime minister said Karnataka “developed applications that include” Corona Watch “to monitor quarantined citizens, which helped free members of the municipal and police team for other activities.” He further stated that his war room in Bangalore had “all the characteristics of a Security Operations Center, and operates in much the same way.” “Led by a dedicated team of nearly 25 around the clock and supervised by two IAS officers, the war room has hotlines for the task force and other entities such as the police and designated hospitals,” said the minister. principal.

Karnataka has so far reported around 700 cases, while its neighboring states like Maharashtra have almost 17,000, Tamil Nadu about 5,000, Andhra 1777 and Telangana has 1107, only Kerala has fewer cases than Karnataka.