Covid cases jump 130% in Karnataka over one week

Between December 27 and 2 January, the state recorded 4,970 cases of Covid-19

Covid-19 cases in Karnataka jumped by 130 per cent in the course of last week, data from the government shows.

Two weeks ago, the state had recorded 2,160 cases. However, between December 27 and 2 January, the state recorded 4,970 cases, out of which 76 per cent originated from Bengaluru Urban.

The high cases, bolstered by the revelation of 1,187 new cases on Sunday, elevated the state’s active caseload to 10,292, amid 257 discharges.

The overall case numbers rose this past week even though the state has only marginally increased its testing - 6.99 lakh tests as opposed to 6.74 lakh tests two weeks ago.

Also read: Uptick in hospitalisations, but most have mild symptoms in Bengaluru

However, government sources said starting Monday, the state will not only increase the number of daily tests to be done, but will introduce more stringent restrictions, such as stricter adherence to mask wearing and social distancing.

“Even though a night curfew was instituted, there were substantial gatherings of people between December 25 and January 1 during day hours, which may have triggered many of the cases we are seeing now,” said Dr P G Girish, director, directorate of medical education.

He said additional steps are now required to bring the numbers under control.

The highest case numbers noted on Sunday were 923 in Bengaluru Urban (the highest such numbers since June 23, when 958 cases were recorded), followed by 63 cases in Dakshina Kannada, 54 in Udupi district and 20 in Mysuru district.

The state also disclosed six new fatalities, three of which were backlog deaths from September and April.

The deceased ranged in age from 55 to 74. The most recent was a 55-year-old man from Dakshina Kannada, who perished at a government hospital on January 1, within a day of being diagnosed with the disease. He had symptoms of Influenza Like Illness (ILI), but no recorded comorbidities.

Also read: Government mulls tougher Covid rules to curb cases in Bengaluru

Child cases

Meanwhile, the state recorded 120 cases of pre-teens (0-9) infected with the novel coronavirus between December 26 and January 1, plus 539 cases of teen infections (10-19).

These numbers are higher than the 70 pre-teen and the 377 teen cases recorded two weeks before.

However, even though cases have risen, the numbers do not represent a proportional increase of child cases in comparison to adult cases.

Vaccinations

The state administered 18.26 lakh doses this week, which is less than the 18.97 lakh doses administered the week before. About 15 per cent of this week’s doses were first doses, while 85 per cent were second doses.

The vaccinations bring the state’s first dose coverage to 97.45 per cent and second dose coverage to 79.28 per cent.

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