BENGALURU: Karnataka appears to have succeeded in flattening the curve, reporting a low caseload, though Bengaluru is still reporting cases in three digits every day. Going by War Room data, active Covid-19 cases are on the decline since May 18, when the caseload dipped below the 6-lakh mark. On October 11, it fell below the 10,000 mark.
However, in Bengaluru, active cases have been sporadically increasing, with spurts seen in July, August, September and October. In 41 days in these four months, active cases saw an increase. Even in terms of fresh Covid cases, since August 30, 40 days have seen less than 1,000 cases added daily in Karnataka. The capital has seen a fall in daily cases since June 24. However, except October 18, when 83 fresh cases were reported, the city continues to see 3-digit caseload each day.
“Any sporadic increase in active cases is only due to the technical issue of processing samples. On Sundays or holidays, samples pile up and don’t get processed until the next day. When some of the samples turn positive, this reflects in the data a day later. Otherwise, since a month, we have been maintaining status quo in the city, with 200-300 cases being added daily. There are no Covid-19 variants detected, so it is not an issue,” said Dr C Nagaraj, director of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, and member of the state Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee.
Both the positivity rate and recovery rate in Karnataka have shown a promising trend. The positivity rate has been reducing steadily since June 6, when it was 8.80 per cent, to October 20, when it was 6 per cent. Between May 12 and October 20, the recovery rate jumped from 70.16 per cent to 98.42 per cent. However, in Bengaluru, the recovery rate remained at 98 per cent since July 24, give or take a few decimal points.
As of October 20, it is 98.16 per cent. Medical Superintendent of KC General Hospital, Dr BR Venkateshaiah said there is not much of an increase in Covid-19 patients at their hospital. “All commercial activities have opened up and schools are set to begin as well. We also had many festivals recently. We need to keep watch for the next 10-15 days. If there is no increase in cases, it means we have escaped but if there is a spike in numbers, we need to be extra cautious,” he said.