Bengaluru, the 3rd wave's here! Caution's the key

As Bengaluru and the state witness a sudden rise in Covid cases in the first two weeks of the new year, there are all indications that the third wave has gripped the state. The good news is that the cases may ease in a couple of weeks. That does not mean that we can bid adieu to Covid appropriate behaviour. Kumaran P analyses why precautions are an absolute must:

Kumaran P | NT

Bengaluru: Covid cases are rising in the city like never before in what is considered the third wave of the pandemic and the city administration says that the only solution is to mask up and safeguard ourselves. The warning has come from none other than the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) chief commissioner Gaurav Gupta.

Speaking about the Covid situation in the city, Mr Gupta said that the cases in the city are steadily increasing and we need to mask up. He said, “We have come to a stage where we need to bring in restrictions which will balance life and business and not be too rigid on the regulations. The cases are going up and they will keep increasing. The important aspect here is masking and one needs to maintain social distance at all times and not trigger crowding in any place.”

“We are keeping all facilities ready to fight the battle. We have activated Covid Care Centers (CCCs), we have spoken to the private hospitals for bed reservations, we have kept all our private hotels also ready for isolation and adequate facilities are recharged,” he added.

The Chief Commissioner hinted that this is the only way we can move forward in the pandemic and the situation will ease in 15-20 days. He said, “The cases will rise in the next 15-20 days and we are likely to see a decline from there. We should guard ourselves so that we overcome this wave easily.”

While the city administration says the situation will remain the same and in the next few days it might steadily become stable-something city doctors too agree with.

“In South Africa the peak rise with maximum cases was seen from 19-25 December with 1,15,328 cases which rapidly declined between Dec 26-Jan 1 in 5 days to 60,142 cases (reduction by 48%). Hospital admissions also were very similar with 8,602 during the maximum peak to 4,388 during the decline,” Dr Pradeep Rangappa, Consultant Critical Care, Manipal Hospital Yeshwanthpur said.

He also said, similar trends will be witnessed here and as per statistical projections, cases will see the peak by mid Feb and will start to show a decline by the end of Feb and early March.

“The quintessential care to be taken is to strictly adhere to CAB (COVID appropriate behavior) avoiding the 3 ‘Cs’ (avoiding crowded spaces, avoiding closed spaces and avoiding close contacts) along with compulsory wearing of masks, booster doses for the vulnerable and hand sanitizing,” added Dr Rangappa.

Dr. Jagadish Hiremath, Chairman at Aasra hospital said, “Looking at the last wave India had a surge after one and half to two months after the USA had a surge. Hence we can say we could see a surge in 15 days to a month. There is a rise in incidental cases. Many who come to hospital with-non Covid complaints were found to be Covid positive when they were tested. The number of asymptomatic cases is too huge unlike the previous two waves. The severity of infection is mild and is seen in patients with simple flu. The number of admission is less than 1% and those who are admitted are getting cured in two to three days.”

OVER 21,000 NEW COVID CASES IN KARNATAKA; 15,617 IN BENGALURU URBAN ALONE

Reporting yet another spike, Karnataka on Wednesday registered 21,390 fresh cases of COVID- 19 and 10 fatalities, taking the tally to 30,99,519 and the death toll to 38,389.

The state has been witnessing a steady surge in cases since the last week of December and had reported 14,473 new infections yesterday.

Of the new cases on Wednesday, 15,617 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 874 people being discharged and 6 deaths. The total number of active cases across the state is now 93,099. There were 1,541 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,68,002, the health department bulletin said.While the positivity rate for the day stood at 10.96 per cent, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 0.04 per cent.

Of the ten deaths, six are from Bengaluru Urban and one each from Ballari, Dakshina Kannada, Kalaburagi and Mysuru.

Apart from Bengaluru Urban, Tumakuru recorded the second highest of 594 new cases, Mysuru 524, Dakshina Kannada 519, Hassan 409 and Udupi 361. Bengaluru Urban district now has a total of 13,34,957 positive cases, followed by Mysuru 1,82,725 and Tumakuru 1,22,845.

According to the bulletin, Bengaluru Urban tops the list among discharges with 12,44,869, follow