Bengaluru accounts for 92% of Karnataka's Omicron cases, 84% active caseload

The state has revealed 333 Covid-19 cases of Omicron variant with Bengaluru Urban district alone accounting for 305 (92 per cent). As many 198 cases of SA variant (60 per cent) have an international travel history while 77 cases have a history of domestic travel.

Of the 305 Omicron cases in Bengaluru, 95 are in institutional isolation while 177 are in home isolation. Only 33 have recovered as per the health department data.

Meanwhile, BBMP officials said, when the current active caseload of 32,157 in Bengaluru was examined, they did not find any link between these 305 Omicron cases and the existing clusters in the city.

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While Bengaluru constitutes 92 per cent of the state’s Omicron cases and 84 per cent of the state’s active caseload, an obvious link between the two was missing.

Officials said most of the international travellers who tested positive at the airport were isolated and did not come into contact with the existing clusters.

BBMP Chief Health Officer (Public Health) Dr Balasundar S A, said, “There are around 500 cases with a Goa travel history, or they are either primary, secondary or tertiary contacts of Goa travellers.

Genome sequencing of samples of active cases may detect Omicron, but we could not find a link between the existing Omicron patients and the present active caseload, except in the case of the government hospital anaesthetist (India’s second Omicron case) who infected five others.”

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Health Commissioner D Randeep said even though more samples being detected now are of Omicron, “There is not much of a link between the current 38,507 active cases and the 333 Omicron cases.”

As per the health department data, statewide 95 Omicron positive cases are in institutional isolation, 178 in-home isolation, 60 have recovered, 299 are fully vaccinated, and 11 are partially vaccinated. Fourteen were paediatric cases and hence not eligible for vaccination. Nine patients’ vaccination status is still being ascertained. As many as 58 patients’ travel history is also still being ascertained.

Head of the state Covid war room Munish Moudgil said an analysis of Covid patients from December 1, 2021, to January 7 has shown that the unvaccinated are 10 times more likely to have manifested Covid infection than the vaccinated. The unvaccinated are 30 times more likely to land in an ICU or HDU as compared to the vaccinated, he said.

Explaining the methodology, he said, “With 97 per cent citizens vaccinated and 3 per cent unvaccinated, ideally if both were equally vulnerable to Covid, then for every 100 Covid cases or hospitalised cases - 97 should have been vaccinated and three should have been unvaccinated. But proportionately, unvaccinated constitute 10 times Covid patients and 30 times more in ICU than expected.”

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