Active Covid-19 cases cross 10,000 for first time since October 10; Bengaluru accounts for 84%

BENGALURU: The number of active Covid-19 cases in Karnataka, which has been consistently declining since September 2021, has breached the 10,000-mark again, for the first time since October 10.
The number of patients under treatment had continued to dip from September 2021, touching 8,644 on October 31 and 6,574 on December 1, 2021. By January 1, 2022, however, such cases stood at 9,386, crossing the 9,000 mark for the first time since mid-October 2021 before reaching 10,292 on Sunday.
However, health department officials reiterated that the number of people needing hospitalisation is still very low both in Bengaluru and across the state when compared to the first and second waves. On preparations to tackle the increasing number of cases, Anil Kumar TK, principal secretary, health & family welfare, told TOI the government has ramped up the number of ICU beds, oxygen cylinders and essential drugs to prepare in case of a third wave but did not give specific numbers.
“...These facilities have been placed on stand-by and will be made operational within a week should the situation go awry. However, I do not want to speculate on the possibility of a third wave,” he said when asked if the government foresees another Covid-19 mass outbreak happening.
The number of infections is on the rise after a brief brush with pre-Covid normalcy, with Bengaluru alone dealing with 8,671 active cases as of Sunday, which is 84% of the overall active cases in the state.
The last time Bengaluru had more than 8,000 active cases was in mid-August. By the end of September, the number had dipped to below 7,500, and further touched 6,531 on October 31. By the end of November, it was under 6,000 and stood at 4,925 as of December 1.
After the capital city, Dakshina Kannada district stands second with 231 active cases, followed by Udupi (194), Kodagu (131), Mysuru (129) and Ballari (122). Together, these six districts, with Bengaluru Urban in the lead, account for 92% of the 10,292 active cases in Karnataka.
Despite the growing numbers, data on the Omicron variant has loosely established that those infected with this new strain do not necessarily need hospitalisation or emergency medical care. Experts also say that overall hospitalisation has also reduced because the state has also managed to vaccinate a good percentage of the targeted adult population in the earlier drives.
Vaccination data as of 6pm on Sunday shows that nearly 78% of the more than 4.9 crore eligible people across the state have been administered both doses. In Bengaluru, 76.5% or more than 80.3 lakh have been given both doses out of the nearly 1.1 crore eligible people.
Similarly, Dakshina Kannada has administered both doses to 77% of the eligible population, while it is 84% in Udupi, 93% in Kodagu, 82.5% in Mysuru and 73.5% in Ballari.