Gearing up to counter the sudden surge in the fresh Covid cases in the districts and rural parts of Karnataka, the state government on Saturday decided to discontinue the home isolation system in villages and taluks and instead directed Deputy Commissioners to admit all Covid positive patients to Covid Care Centres or isolation centres.
Accommodating the patients, the district administration has been told to make use of the government hostel and schools facilities.
A high-level meeting of the Karnataka Covid Task Force headed by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwatha Narayana decided that all home isolation facilities are withdrawn in the rest of Karnataka (RoK) areas and admit Covid patients to isolation centres at CCCs or hostels.
“Unlike Bengaluru, the household in these rural areas and hinterland lack separate facilities for isolation. Hence, there is always a bigger risk of infecting others in the family. As a result, we have made it mandatory that all infected patients have to be admitted to Covid Care centres functioning at Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) or at taluk headquarters,” Deputy CM Dr Ashwatha Narayan told media persons.
Preparing to accommodate this huge influx of fresh cases, Deputy Commissioners have been instructed to convert all the government hostels under the Social Welfare Department and schools as isolation centres and Covid Care Centres.
“Any Covid patient, starting from tomorrow will only be admitted to these centres where all facilities will be provided including oxygen concentrators. No person is allowed to isolate themselves at home,” DCM explained. According to sources in the state government, experts had recommended this community isolation centres as the only solution to contain the spread of cases in rural and hinterlands of Karnataka which is of late reporting nearly 60 to 70 per cent of fresh cases.