The Dakshina Kannada district administration has proposed to set up a new RT-PCR testing centre at Puttur to hasten the sample testing for the early diagnosis of COVID-19 and to reduce delay in the announcement test results.
“I have asked the engineering division of the Health Department to submit the plan for the new centre at the place identified in Puttur. We hope to have it in shortly,” Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra told The Hindu.
Puttur required the government testing facility because of the time taken to reach nasal and throat samples from Puttur, Belthangady and Sullia taluks to the testing centre in Government Wenlock Hospital, which is the only government centre doing the testing during the second wave, in Mangaluru. “It takes nearly a day to bring samples from these taluks to Wenlock Hosptial and hence there has been delay in giving test reports,” Dr. Rajendra said. The district administration is working to ensure that reports are made available within 24 hours as there has been significant increase in testing of primary and secondary contacts, he added.
For the last 15 days, swabs from Belthangady, Puttur and Sullia taluks are being tested at the centre in KVG Medical College and Hospital in Sullia. This centre was among the eight ICMR-approved testing centres set up in eight private medical colleges of the district during the first wave.
“We have installed additional machines at the centre in Sullia. Additional testing personnel have been trained. Around ₹6 lakh from the District Disaster Management Scheme has been used to create this centre at Sullia Ccollege,” he said. On an average, this centre has been testing 1,500 of the total of 6,000 tested every day. “We are now giving RT-PCR reports within 19 hours,” he said.
There is significant increase in testing in the last seven days. As many as 10,445 samples were tested on June 19.
New cases in 4 GPs
Only four of the 18 gram panchayats (GPs), where complete lockdown was imposed between June 14 and 21, reported new cases. The total lockdown was imposed in 18 panchayats that had 50 or more active cases.
Naravi GP of Belthangady taluk reported 73 cases on Sunday as against 53 on June 14. Active cases in Mithabagilu panchayat of Belthangady taluk increased to 66 from 57, while in Konaje GP of Mangaluru taluk it increased to 85 from 79 and in Guthigaru of Sullia taluk it increased to 72 from 70. The increase is because of increased testing,” said Dakshina Kannada ZP CEO Kumara.
Among the 18 panchayats where active cases decreased, are Aranthodu in Sullia taluk where active cases dropped to 33 on Sunday. In Kollamogaru of Sullia taluk, active cases stood at 37, at 54 in Savanuru of Kadaba taluk, and at 21 in Neermarga panchayat of Mangaluru taluk as on Sunday.
