DK to have 1,500 covid cases per 1 mn people in 4 days; Udupi in 8 days: Researchers

News Network

August 8, 2021

Mangaluru, Aug 8: The coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi will have 1,500 covid-19 cases per million population in the next four and eight days respectively, according to an early warning system for surge in covid cases developed by researchers from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Bengaluru.

Prof Siva Athreya from ISI, a probability theorist specialising in statistical physics and population biology, along with Deepayan Sarkar, ISI, Delhi, and Rajesh Sundaresan, dean of the division of EECS (Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Sciences), IISc, created an early warning system from the daily reported cases, and each district’s healthcare infrastructure capacity.

Explaining the significance of this, Athreya said, “We have assumed that health infrastructure capacity in a district is proportional to its population. Hence, we have used days taken to reach 50 cases per million population and days to 1,500 cases per million population as markers for healthcare infrastructure capacity.”

The system takes into account the peak in a previous Covid wave to give a warning on the district’s healthcare infrastructure’s capacity.

“The number of cases at the previous peak is taken as a critical number of cases in the early warning system. This is just another marker for healthcare infrastructure capacity. The predicted number of days to achieve this is intended to provide an early warning to epidemiologists and district authorities,” he added.

Athreya explained, “To predict active cases at any given time, we average the last four calculated values of ‘relative growth rate’ on that date and then use this average as the growth rate for the prediction. One of the goals is to provide early warning before the cases increase substantially. We have also made a presentation to members of the State Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee on the early warning signals.”

However, data shared by Dr Ashok H, Covid nodal officer for Dakshina Kannada district, showed that in 58 private hospitals as on August 3, out of a total of 5,967 Covid beds, a mere 354 were occupied.

Out of the total private Covid beds in the district, 3,602 are general, 1,854 are equipped with oxygen, 158 have high flow oxygen (HFO) and 176 are beds in intensive care units. As many as 177 beds have ventilators.

Only 134 were occupied among private general beds, 121 in oxygen, 18 in HFO, 30 in ICU, and 51 ventilator beds were occupied. The rest were vacant. As on August 7, the district had 3,294 active Covid cases.

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Puttur's Healthcare Dream Cleared: State Finance Gives Nod for 300-Bed Hospital

News Network

December 2,2025

Puttur: The long-cherished dream of a government medical college in Puttur has moved a decisive step closer to reality, with the Karnataka State Finance Department granting its official approval for the construction of a new 300-bed hospital.

Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai announced the crucial development to reporters on Monday, confirming that the official communication from the finance department was issued on November 27. This 300-bed facility is intended to be the cornerstone for the establishment of the government medical college, a project announced in the state budget.

Fast-Track Implementation

The MLA outlined an aggressive timeline for the project:

• A Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the hospital is expected to be ready within 45 days.

• The tender process for the construction will be completed within two months.

Following the completion of the tender process, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the project.

"Setting up a medical college in Puttur is a historical decision by the Congress government in Karnataka," Rai stated. The project has an estimated budget allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for the medical college.

Focus on Medical Education Department

The MLA highlighted a key strategic move: requesting the government to implement the hospital construction through the Medical Education Department instead of the Health and Family Welfare Department. This is intended to streamline the entire process of establishing the full medical college, ensuring the facilities—including labs, operation theatres, and other necessary infrastructure—adhere to the strict guidelines set by the Medical Council of India (MCI). The proposed site for the project is in Bannur.

Rai also took the opportunity to address political criticism, stating that the government has fulfilled its promise despite "apprehensions" and "mocking and criticising" from opposition parties who had failed to take similar initiatives when they were in power. "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has kept his word," he added.

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