Bengaluru Since the beginning of August, Bengaluru has recorded 3,147 new Covid-19 infections with an average of around 400 per day, raising concerns of the imminent third wave hitting the southern state sooner than expected.
What is more concerning is that the number of recoveries are lower than the new infections, which is adding to the number of active cases in the southern state and its largest city, Bengaluru.
Between August 1 and August 8, there were 3,141 recoveries in Bengaluru and 13,034 across the state, indicating that new infections are seeing a surge which is higher than recoveries.
Since the beginning of August, Karnataka has recorded 13,401 new infections, data shows.
“The number (infections) is not coming down and it is static. We have to watch for another two weeks to see if the numbers remain the same or if there is movement,” Dr CN Manjunath, cardiologist and director of Sri Jayadeva. Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research said.
Manjunath, who is also part of the state’s technical advisory committee (TAC), added that the committee has decided to monitor the situation for the next two weeks before they take any further decisions.
{{/usCountry}}Manjunath, who is also part of the state’s technical advisory committee (TAC), added that the committee has decided to monitor the situation for the next two weeks before they take any further decisions.
{{/usCountry}}The Basavaraj Bommai government has already placed weekend restrictions in all districts bordering Kerala and Maharashtra, besides a state-wide night curfew.
“The whole objective is to remind people that corona is very much alive and it is to sensitise the community and ensure they do not get complacent,” he added.
Though Karnataka has blamed neighbouring Kerala and Maharashtra for its surge; but has looked the other way when it comes to the blatant disregard for masks, social distancing and avoiding crowds in Bengaluru, which houses almost a quarter of the state’s population.
The vaccination numbers too have seen a decline, which officials said will be fixed as and when the supplies come in.
“It is a dynamic situation where stocks are replenished every few days,” said a senior health department official, requesting not to be named.
Karnataka has so far administered 3,29,18,047 doses of Covid-19 vaccines of which the first and second dose account for 2,55,84,606 and 73,33,441 respectively. The state had administered 1,41,530 doses on Sunday till 7.30 pm, according to data on CoWin.
The vaccination coverage is nowhere near the state’s own targets of getting the entire eligible population at least one dose of vaccine by the end of December.
At the moment, Karnataka’s full coverage (persons who have received both doses) is around 10% of the state’s over 70 million population, data shows.
Since the beginning of August, Karnataka has administered 2,310,702 doses of Covid-19 vaccines but most of this in Bengaluru and paid vaccination.
In the coffee growing district of Kodagu, about 225 kms from Bengaluru, people have often been sent back after long hours of waiting due to shortage of vaccines.
Similar scenes are witnessed in other parts of Karnataka.
Bengaluru has 159 micro containment zones, with areas like Mahadevapura showing a sharp spike in new cases. The positivity rate is 0.62% and the case fatality rate is 1.24% for the past week, data shows.
There are 99 wards that have over 10 cases and the recovery rate is 98.02%.
However, experts said that the number of hospital admissions have not gone up by much. The three day moving average for hospital admissions in Bengaluru is around 17, according to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).