Has administration failed to avoid, surge of COVID-19 cases in Bhatkal?
Bhatkal: After the first COVID-19 wave in the town, roots of which were traced to the gulf, people in Uttara Kannada’s Bhatkal were anticipating relaxation of lockdown in the town when they woke up to the news of another case of COVID-19 on Tuesday, May 5.
Ever since May 5, things have turned into a nightmare for the local residents as well as the local Taluk and District Administrations. It took only one patient to trigger the second wave of deadly Corona Virus in the town, as nearly 30 people tested positive for the virus on the subsequent two days till Sunday afternoon.
All the patients are reportedly the contacts of the 18-year old female patient who tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. On Friday, twelve people tested positive, while eight and seven people tested positive on Saturday and Sunday (till afternoon) respectively with reports of over one hundred people still awaited.
The 18-year old patient, who tested positive on Tuesday, was sister of a woman who had visited First Neuro Hospital in Mangaluru along with her five-year old kid and husband. The woman had reportedly transmitted the virus at the hospital during her visit. The woman has also tested positive for the virus now along with her five-year old kid, but it was her 18-year old sister who showed symptoms of the virus and tested positive for it. The Hospital in question has been in headlines over the last few days as one of the staffer at the hospital had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 23 followed by which, several patients who had undergone treatment there, were also infected by the virus.
Local social media groups in Bhatkal are abuzz with messages criticizing Taluk and District Administrations of both the Districts for delaying the process and for several lapses in the working process in the times of pandemic.
One of the biggest questions that are being asked is whether the administration failed to avoid the avoidable second wave of COVID-19 in Bhatkal?
Upon checking facts and records, it indeed looks like there were lapses by both Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada Administrations at their own ends and with a little improved responsiveness, the outbreak in the coastal town could’ve been avoided which has now put on risk lives of several senior citizens and a five-month old infant along with a five-month pregnant woman.
Who is to be blamed?
Lack of co-ordination between District Administrations of Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada:
When the first case of COVID-19 was recorded at First Neuro Hospital (FNH) the DK District Administration reportedly did not show urgency in sharing the details and information of the patients of other Districts who had visited the hospital to their respective District Administrations.
Another report claimed that it took the DK District Administration over a week’s time to dispatch the details of the patient while the hospital authorities claim they had handed over the details to the administration without any delays. Uttara Kannada District Administration reportedly received information of the 18-year old patient’s visit to the hospital on April 30.
Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, Sindhu B Rupesh, however while speaking to Vartha Bharati over phone maintained that the details of the OPD patients as well as inpatients were shared with respective District Administrations and the hospital records of at least two months were shared with all the Districts.
Had the Dakshina Kannada District Administration dispatched the details of the patients earlier, and had shown a little urgency in the matter, the outbreak in Bhatkal could’ve been avoided by giving the administration enough time to trace and quarantine the patient.
Were lapses of Uttara Kannada Administration another cause for the outbreak?
While blaming the District Administration of Dakshina Kannada, the lapses of Uttara Kannada administration cannot be overlooked. The administration during the lockdown issued emergency medical passes to ease the sufferings of people who had to visit places like Kundapura, Udupi and Mangalore for medical references. But it erred by not tracking the patients and their travel, consultation history of hospitals they visited when they returned back to the town.
The administration remained clueless on which hospital the patients had visited to in Mangaluru. Even when the FNH cases came to the fore, the Administration could’ve summoned all those who had availed passes and had enquired about their travel history. But it didn’t. Results, over 150 people whose samples have been sent for testing (at the time of posting of this report) are threatened by the deadly virus while the locals believe that there will be a further surge in the number of cases in coming few days.
Situation on ground:
For now almost the entire Bhatkal town is under a complete seal-down with all the essential services including medical shops and hospitals closed by a panicked administration to cap the number of cases of COVID-19 in town.
People have went out to call it “Oppression” in minority community dominated localities, areas and have blamed the administration to be riding upon the alleged communal agenda of local MLA Sunil Naik and MP Ananth Kumar Hegde.
The fuel to the fire of this theory was added by a video allegedly made viral by Sunil Naik himself wherein he is seen strictly instructing police officials to take strictest course of action against anybody stepping out of their homes. He has in the video assured the police personnel of backing them on all of their action and decisions. The video was allegedly shot in Madeena Colony (a minority community dominated area) in town.
The video received a lot of flak and criticism on social media and local activists and youngsters called it “hooliganism” of the public representative.
Amidst all the confusion and panic among both administrations and residents of the town, one question has remained constant over the last few days, “has administration failed to avoid, avoidable surge of COVID-19 cases in Bhatkal?” and despite repeated attempts by Vartha Bharati to reach Uttara Kannada DC, Dr. Harish Kumar through calls and messages, the officer remained unavailable to answer the question.
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
