Contact tracing suffers in Karnataka as staff test positive for Covid-19

A health worker draws a swab sample from a passenger for the Covid test, at KSRTC bus stand in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Credit: DH Photo/B K Janardhan

The state is currently tracing 0.32 primary contacts per patient as per the war room average as of January 24.

This is despite the health commissioner making it clear in his January 18 circular that irrespective of age and comorbidities, primary contacts including asymptomatics at home and workplace have to be tested.

The least available active contact tracing staff currently are in the districts of Bidar (64), Yadgir (88), Raichur (193), Gadag (310), and Uttara Kannada (538), according to the war room.

During the first wave, Karnataka had won appreciation from the Centre for its robust contact tracing efforts in the initial few months, when an average of 47 contacts per patient were being traced.

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Ideally, 20 contacts per patient should be tested which seems difficult now, as contact tracing staff are increasingly testing positive.

They are, instead, being asked to make calls from home and trace contacts.

Also, teachers cannot be asked to do contact tracing anymore, say district officials.

As per the nodal officer for contact tracing in Bidar district Dr Shivashankar, there are 519 Covid patients in the district with nil contacts.

"For each case, on an average, we trace more than eight contacts," the officer said.

However, as per the district's own statistics, the average primary contact per patient is 2.3.

Bidar district health officer Dr V G Reddy told DH, "We have asked for at least five primary contacts and 15 secondary contacts to be tested. But several staffers, around 30%, is infected with Covid. This includes contact tracing staff."

Gadag district has traced 3.92 primary contacts and 3.46 secondary contacts per patient, in all seven contacts per patient.

District health officer Dr Satish C Basarigidad told DH, "There are more than 80 contact tracing staff who've been deployed in the district. More than nine primary contacts and six to seven secondary contacts are traced per patient."

In Uttara Kannada district, there are 3,381 cases reported from January 19 to 26, out of whom 1,681 have nil contacts. As many as 6,986 primary contacts and 23,548 secondary contacts have been traced, which is an average of 2.07 primary contacts and 6.96 secondary contacts per patient.

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