More test positive for Covid-19 double mutant strain in Bengaluru

More patients in BBMP limits have tested positive for the double mutant variant B.1.617 apart from the 16 patients on Tuesday, indicating that the strain has spread locally.

However, the BBMP is yet to get a grip on the situation. Zonal officers of the Palike are clueless that their zone has patients with the mutant virus. As on Tuesday, there were 16 patients in the BBMP limits: five each in Bommanahalli zone and West zone, four in the South zone and two in Dasarahalli zone.

The Covid surveillance team in BBMP headquarters claimed they had relayed messages to zones about patients with the mutant virus, but zones were clueless on where the patients were — at home or in a hospital — and how many contacts each of them had generated.

"A new list of Covid patients with the double mutant variant has come today (Wednesday). We are calling them up individually and verifying their address. We are trying to track them," a BBMP official said. Of the 16 patients who tested positive for the variant on Tuesday, some have been hospitalised, discharged and have got a negative certificate. These have been identified in local clusters. Others have been identified when they got tested at railway stations when they arrived from other states, he said.

Read: 16 cases of double mutant Covid variant in Bengaluru

"Others have left for places like Punjab and Pune. We have already notified them about the double mutant," he added.

BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said, "With thousands of new cases being detected every day, we are yet to find out how these (double mutant) cases are categorised and what the treatment protocol is. There is no doubt this is also important."

Victoria Hospital, the largest government facility for Covid patients, said that while UK strain patients had earlier been isolated from other Covid patients in Trauma and Emergency Care Centre, now the blocks (master plan building and C block housing Covid patients) resembled a village fair. Patients with UK strain, South Africa strain and double mutant variant are everywhere and the BBMP has not even informed about such patients, said a doctor on Covid duty.

Dr Manoranjan Hegde, BBMP health officer, West, said, "As per my knowledge, there is no separate Standard Operating Procedure for double mutant variant." He did not respond to further queries on how many contacts had been generated by the five existing patients in the West zone, and whether they had been hospitalised or isolated at home.

Dr Savitha S K, health officer, Bommanahalli, said, "There are no such Covid patients in Bommanahalli zone." On being informed of the five patients in the zone, she said, "Then go ask the BBMP headquarters."

Health officer of South zone Dr Shivakumar M said he was yet to collect details.