Covid-19 Wrap-up: No lockdown in Bengaluru yet but government to remain cautious

Amid fears of a third coronavirus wave as daily cases see a gradual rise, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Friday specified that the government had no plans to impose a lockdown in Bengaluru, ending speculation that stay-at-home orders might be issued. In a meeting with experts, CM Bommai decided that the city will face stringent curbs if and when the positivity rate touches 2%. It is currently 0.66%.

Meanwhile, if the vaccination numbers remain the same as they are now, it would take Karnataka roughly about 141 days to wrap up its adult vaccination drive, data shows. Which is a month later than the Centre’s target.

India's coronavirus caseload mounted to 3,22,25,513 on Monday with 32,937 fresh infections, while the active cases came down to 3,81,947, the lowest in 145 days, according to Union health ministry data.

Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech’s intranasal vaccine has received regulatory approval for phase-2/3 clinical trials, the outcome of which would decide whether it could be used in India’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The phase 1 clinical trial, carried out in people belonging to the 18-60 years of age, showed that the vaccine was well tolerated with no reports of any serious adverse events.

Meanwhile, Serum Institute of India chairman Cyrus Poonawalla said that taking a third or ‘booster dose' of Covishield was desirable. He also said he was not in favour of mixing two difference vaccines, and criticized the Union government for banning exports of vaccines.

If such combination of doses did not work, each vaccine manufacturer will blame the other company, he said. Later, in a statement to clarify his remarks, Poonawalla said such mixing can be resorted to if a particular vaccine is not available at the time of second dose.

In a curious case, one district in Kerala has reported more than 5,000 cases of Covid-19 reinfections after two doses of the vaccine, prompting the central government to initiate a probe into the dynamics of the disease at Pathanamthitta.

In line with predictions about an “age-shift” in the people contracting Covid-19, the proportion of cases of children being infected has risen in the last two weeks. However, experts stressed that this does not indicate that a third wave is imminent.

The Punjab government Saturday announced that from Monday the state will allow entry to only those who are either fully vaccinated against coronavirus or have a negative RT-PCR report. The directions, issued after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh held a Covid review meeting, also said there will be strict monitoring of people coming from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu.

Travelling to the United Kingdom? Covid-19 tests for international travellers from Amber list countries like India are now cheaper. The price dropped from £88 to £68 ($122 to $94), after many representations over the high charges of the mandatory testing. Passengers returning from Green list countries or Amber list destinations like India, if they are fully vaccinated, will now pay £20 ($27) less per Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test.

As the third wave threat still looms large, we must not drop our guard even if the Covid situation seems under control. One of the simplest ways is to mask up. As the pandemic progressed so did the debates around face masks. Many have been scared of them, some have been cautious whilst some are against wearing a face covering. Here are some facts, fears and the evolution of the debate around face masks over time.

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