Nearly 2 crore people in Karnataka were COVID-19 infected, says govt survey
Bengaluru: At least 1.93 crores or 27.3 percent of the people in Karnataka are either infected by coronavirus or had the infection in the past, as of 16 September, revealed a survey by the government to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 in the state.
Sharing details of the findings, Karnataka Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar said the survey was carried out from September 3 to 16 across 30 districts in the state.
According to Sudhakar, the state government wanted to ascertain the pace at which the COVID-19 cases were increasing.
"The government has to have clear information on how it is spreading in the community in the districts, how to prevent its spread and action to be taken. Hence, this survey was conducted," said the minister.
The sample size is 16,585 in the entire state.
Of this, the test reports of 15,624 have been submitted, he added.
Besides the Rapid Antigen Test and the RT PCR, IgG test was also carried out.
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is the most common antibody in blood and other body fluids, which protects against the bacterial and viral infections.
It is developed after an infection or immunisation.
The survey also found that the infection fatality rate due to COVID-19 was 0.05 percent.
"Out of 7.07 crore estimated population in Karnataka, the study estimates that 1.93 crores (27.3 percent) of the people are either currently infected or already had the infection in the past, as of 16 September 2020," the report said.
It further stated that the present IFR is likely an underestimate.
The overall IFR based on the first round of sentinel serosurvey findings is 0.07 percent.
Based on the report, it is estimated that the overall weighted adjusted seroprevalence of IgG was 16.4 percent.
"It suggests that in the surveyed population, 16.4 percent of the people were infected in the past and found to have IgG antibodies against SARS CoV-2," the finding revealed.
The report mentioned that the districts with a high Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) need clinical care to be improved.
Noting that the state was passing through different stages of COVID-19 pandemic in different districts, the report said the surge in cases is yet to occur in the districts with the lowest estimated prevalence of COVID-19 such as Dharwad, Gadag, Chikkaballapur, Bagalkot, and Mahadevapura in Bengaluru urban district.
The study recommended establishing the district-level facility-based sentinel sero-surveillance to monitor the trend of infection in the long term systematically.
This can inform local decision-making at the district level to mount the necessary public health response towards the COVID-19 epidemic in Karnataka.
The government said that a follow-up survey has been planned to measure the extent and speed of transmission and evaluate the impact of containment strategies overtime in the state.
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BITS Pilani student killed, another injured as motorcycle collides with oil tanker in South Goa
Panaji (PTI): A 26-year-old student of BITS Pilani was killed, and another suffered grievous injuries after their motorcycle collided with an oil tanker in South Goa, police said on Sunday.
The accident occurred around 5.15 pm on Saturday near a junction at Upasnagar in the Zuari Nagar area, an official said.
He said that the tanker was heading towards Vasco town from Upasnagar when the driver, Pedro Ivo Medeira (66), allegedly took a right turn to enter another lane without ensuring the safety of the oncoming traffic.
The victim, Karan Narasimha Murthy, who was riding towards Verna from the BITS Pilani campus, crashed into the rear left side of the tanker.
Murthy and his friend, Soham Adhikari (26), another student of BITS Pilani, suffered grievous injuries and were rushed to a hospital, where the former succumbed to his injuries.
Adhikari is undergoing treatment at the Goa Medical College and Hospital in Bambolim, the official said, adding that the tanker driver was arrested and later released on bail.
