Make us orange, please: Exhausted Mysuru officials want to change colour

Mysuru: Just when the news from the rest of the state is bad, the Mysuru district administration has decided to petition the higher-ups to please kindly change its status from red to orange.

The administration thinks it’s got facts on its side: 83 out of the 90 Covid positive cases in the district have been cured and discharged. Only seven remain in quarantine at the designated hospital.

Mysuru likes to think of itself as a district that stared down a monster. Out of the 43 containment zones in Mysuru district, restrictions have been lifted in 13, including 6 in Mysuru and 7 in Nanjangud taluk. At one point, there were as many as 13 containment zones in Mysuru city alone and 28 in Nanjangud taluk.

Out of the 74 Covid-19 positive cases related to the Jubilant Generics cluster, 59 cases were traced to Nanjangud taluk (including 34 cases in 14 villages in Nanjangud rural and 25 cases in Nanjangud town). As many as 29 cases were detected in Mysuru city including 15 related to the Jubilant cluster, and 10 related to Islamic missionaries from Tablighi Jamaat who came from Delhi in January.

With 60 Covid-19 positive cases and 30 containment zones in Mysuru rural, and also with the district bordering Kerala and hotspot Mandya district, Mysuru SP C B Rishyanth has been away from his family since March 1. Similarly, Mysuru police commissioner Chandragupta has been away from his family for the past one and a half months. And Mysuru DC Abhiram G Shankar has isolated himself in a separate room in his house since he has a small baby at home.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Shankar said, “With our effort, 83 out of 90 cases have been cured and discharged. I wouldn't call this a final success. The battle is won but the war is just beginning. It’s going to be a long haul and we are more prepared than ever.”