Covid-19 to haunt till Dec, but next 3 months crucial: Dr Manjunath

At least one in every five persons of the population is infected with Covid-19 during the second wave of the pandemic, according to Dr C N Manjunath, Director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research.

“If we do not follow the Covid-19 guidelines, the pandemic will prove costly for all of us,” he said. Dr Manjunath, who is also the member of the State’s Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, was delivering a talk in the webinar on “Precautions for Journalists During Covid-19 Pandemic,” organised by the Karnataka Working Journalists’ Association.

Acknowledging that the second wave has resulted in the increased mortality, Dr Manjunath said, “The next three months are crucial for all of us in our fight against the pandemic even though the threat of Covid-19 will continue to grip us until December 2021.”

Expressing shock over the exponential rise in the cases, Dr Manjunath lamented, “It is concerning that we (India) are almost surpassing Brazil and USA in cases and mortality with about 4 lakh cases and 4,000 deaths.”

Urging people not to brush aside even simple body ache, fever in any time of the year, Dr Manjunath appealed to the public to get tested immediately and avoid mingling with the crowd in any place.