Frequent travellers from Kasaragod district in neighbouring Kerala on Friday sought exemption from mandatory RT-PCR testing to enter Karnataka via Dakshina Kannada district.
In a memorandum submitted to the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner K V Rajendra, Sahayathri – a forum of daily commuters – pointed out that frequent testing was proving to be inconvenient during their travel to the state.
“We have undergone Covid-19 tests four times during the last one and a half months. With schools and colleges resuming offline sessions, even students from Kasaragod studying in educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada are subjected to these tests once a week causing a lot of inconvenience,” they informed the DC, adding that thousands of others including doctors, paramedical staff, and entrepreneurs were also facing troubles and delays due to the same.
The deputy commissioner has promised the forum that a decision will be taken based on the test positivity rate in Kasaragod district.
589 new cases, CFR recorded at 2.2%
Meanwhile, Karnataka reported 589 new Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths Friday, taking the total number of infections to 29,76,589 and the toll to 37,807. The day also saw 887 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 29,26,284. Of the new cases, 221 were reported from Bengaluru Urban even as the city saw 212 discharges and five deaths.
While the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.46 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 2.20 per cent. Dakshina Kannada reported two deaths, while one death each was reported from Belagavi, Bengaluru Rural, Bagalkote, Mysuru, Haveri and Ramanagara.
As many as 1,26,932 samples were tested in the last 24 hours as another 2,19,016 people were inoculated across the state. Karnataka, as on October 1, has 12,469 active cases.