BENGALURU: For the first time, on May 4, Karnataka saw the number of recoveries exceeding the number of active Covid-19 cases — 321 recoveries, as against 302 active cases.
The streak continued for eight days till May 11. But beginning Tuesday thanks to the influx of people from other states and even countries, the number of Covid-19 cases in Karnataka has been witnessing new highs every day.
If Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar’s estimate is anything to go by, the state will see more and more cases piling up over the coming few weeks. But the spike in the number of cases is not being viewed as a “second wave of infection”.
“As of now, there is no reason to believe that the surge in the number of cases is a result of the second wave of infections. The new cases we are seeing are patients with travel histories from other states or countries. Karnataka is reporting more cases due to the influx of people, and this trend is going to continue for a few weeks,” said Dr K Sudhakar. But the state has little to worry, the minister added.
On Friday, the number of recoveries in Karnataka stood at 480, while active cases were at 539. The state also recorded a new high for the number of samples tested in a single day on Thursday, when 7,195 samples were tested.
Given the predicted rise in the number of cases, the State Government has identified more designated hospitals for patients with Covid-19, roped in private hospitals for assistance, procured ventilators and also set up isolation and quarantine facilities across the state. Karnataka hopes to continue to curb the spread of Covid-19 without compromising the economic activities even in the red zones.
FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING
Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Friday said the state has not yet entered the community transmission stage. The figures given out by him indicate so