Lockdown helped lower Covid spread in K’taka, official quotes survey

Bengaluru, June 13 (IANS) The Covid lockdown measures have been successful in keeping the coronavirus transmission low in Karnataka, an official said on Saturday quoting a national survey undertaken in the southern state in May.

“Measures taken during the lockdown have been successful in keeping the transmission low and in preventing the rapid spread of Covid,” the health official said, quoting National Covid Sero-Surveillance report.

The Sero-Surveillance study was conducted jointly by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Tuberculosis Institute, and the government of Karnataka in May at Chitradurga, Bengaluru, and Kalaburagi.

According to the survey, 0.25 per cent of the surveyed people in Bengaluru and Kalaburagi exhibited evidence of exposure to the pandemic, which the survey claims as a successful outcome of the lockdown.

“This implies that a large portion of the population must continue to follow precautionary measures as suggested by the government from time to time,” the official said.

For the survey, 400 samples were tested in Chitradurga and Bengaluru and 399 in Kalaburagi. However, it was only a baseline survey and the government is looking forward to further rounds.

Among the tested samples, one each person tested positive for the virus in Bengaluru and Kalaburagi, showing an unweighted prevalence percentage of 0.25

By the end of Saturday, Karnataka is grappling with 6,824 infections, of which 3,092 are active.

–IANS

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