Bengaluru tests more, so more cases!

Other districts in state are conducting les than 500 tests.

By Kumaran P & Nischith N | NT

Bengaluru: On Tuesday Bengaluru Urban district recorded 10,800 positive cases of COVID-19 whereas other districts in the state are reporting less than 11,000 cases. What could be the reason for this?

Dr MK Sudarshan, member of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Covid said, “We have a high population density in Bengaluru which witnesses maximum activities in business, industry, commerce, education and the hospitality sector and hence the number of positive cases are high.”

Other doctors however feel the testing is low in other districts and this could be the reason. A doctor said, “Not even 500 tests are being done in Tier-2 cities and hence we are not getting high positive cases”

“Most people know that if we do not test, we cannot find COVID cases. People who have cold or cough in other districts get treated at the local clinic but what they do not know is that they could be super spreaders,” added the doctor.

Dr. Jagadish Hiremath, Chairman at Aasra hospital said, “We are seeing a spike in the number of cases here which will spread across the state in the next two or three weeks. Bengaluru is a city with a dense population. This makes it hard to maintain social distance at all times. Adding to it, there is a casual attitude among the public. It is impossible to check the spread of the infection unless people follow Covid appropriate behavior strictly.”

The Omicron variant of the virus is spreading faster which could be the reason why the severity of infection is less and hospitalization is also less. ‘’But as the number of cases increases, the death rate may also increase,” said Dr Girish HR, medical director, True Lifecare Hospital.