BENGALURU: On Friday midnight, the state recorded 9,746 new cases, with the cumulative tally standing at 3,89,232.
With the state recording an exponential increase at over 9,000 cases a day since a few days, the health professionals state that this can be a sign that the second wave of the pandemic has begun.
On the brighter side, Bengaluru hit the 1 lakh mark with respect to discharges.
Dr Satyanarayana Mysore, HOD of Pulmonology at Manipal Hospitals, said, “The exponential growth of the cases indicates that the second wave has begun. Karnataka which was hoping to reach its peak, wherein about 40% of the population will be infected and the cases would reduce, is now instead seeing a growth in cases. The second wave, however, has both a negative and positive side. On a positive note, with the beginning of the second wave, the duration of the pandemic in the state can get over early. But on the negative side, the second wave has the potential to overwhelm the critical care of the hospital resources.”
The health professionals have attributed the rise in cases to people not following the Covid norms like wearing masks.
In addition, social gatherings have begun, throwing social distancing to the winds, they said.
The state recorded 128 Covid deaths. In Bengaluru Urban, 3,093 new cases and 34 deaths were reported. There were the highest single day discharges in the State at 9,102.
Meanwhile, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said the state will soon reach its goal of conducting 1 lakh Covid-19 tests per day as it has increased the number of labs and the tests done. .
“From one testing lab for Covid-19 test, we have opened 108 labs in six months and from 300 tests per day to 75,000. This will soon reach the goal of 1 lakh tests per day. Covid-19 can be prevented completely only with the use of the vaccine. The death rate in the state has been 1.65% and the aim is to bring it down to less than 1%,” he said.