Covid case spike cannot be termed beginning of fourth wave: Bommai

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that even though there is a slight increase in the number of Covid cases in the state, but it would be premature to term the rise as the fourth wave of the pandemic

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that even though there is a slight increase in the number of Covid cases in the state, but it would be premature to term the rise as the fourth wave of the pandemic. “The rise in cases is being monitored and precautionary measures are being taken,” he told reporters in Hubballi.

Bengaluru Urban continues to top the list with 127 new cases. (PTI)

He said that the state will ramp up the vaccination drive. “A spike in Covid-19 cases is being reported in Europe and a few other countries, especially among those who have not been vaccinated. About 98% of the eligible population has been vaccinated in Karnataka. Attention is being given to administer precautionary vaccine doses in the state,” he said.

With the Union government approving vaccination for children in the age group of 6 to 12, he said that it has been decided to launch the vaccination drive at primary schools. Bommai said that officials have been instructed to ramp up testing, and special monitoring of influenza like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) cases is being done.

“The reports of positive cases are being sent for genome sequencing to ascertain the exact variant of the virus. Already 8,500 genome sequencing tests have been done in the state, over 4,000 in Bengaluru, and the rest in other parts of the state,” he said.

On Friday, Karnataka reported 133 fresh Covid cases. No deaths were reported in the state, according to the health department bulletin. The state’s Covid caseload has climbed to 3.94 million and the death toll stands at 40,057. Bengaluru Urban continues to top the list with 127 new cases. The total number of active cases in the state is now 1,737.