BENGALURU: By September 10, India’s Covid cases are expected to touch 32.8 crore (3,28,42,435) and deaths 4.40 lakh (4,40,220), as per an analysis by Jeevan Raksha. Karnataka’s Covid figures are expected to touch 29.50 lakh (29,50,000) and deaths 37,470.
Some districts are worse off than others. The problem areas in terms of caseload are Bengaluru Urban, which added 24 per cent of the new cases in the state over the last four weeks, Dakshina Kannada, which added 18.4 per cent of the cases, then comes Mysuru, Udupi and Hassan.
“Karnataka has to be ultra-careful and should not allow complacencies to seep in. Today, Karnataka has around 22,000 active cases. This is exactly at the same influx we saw right before the second wave swooped in the state in mid-March. In a matter of about just five to six weeks, Karnataka piled up 6 lakh active cases. The state government needs to have a separate strategy for Bengaluru Urban,” said Mysore Sanjeev, convener, Jeevan Raksha.
As per their analysis, Karnataka’s 28-day Moving Growth Rate (MGR) stands at 1.5 per cent and the MGR of all districts must be brought under this figure to avert the third wave. Districts with MGR higher than that of Karnataka, between July 12 and August 12, are Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Udupi, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Chamarajanagara, and Shivamogga.
Sanjeev also pointed to the massive under-reporting of cases. In July, Karnataka reported 61,314 new Covid cases and 1,522 deaths. Astonishingly, 28,060 new insurance claims have been registered for Covid treatment in Karnataka, which means 46 per cent of them had health insurance coverage.
“The actual number of cases in Karnataka in July should have been around 1.75 lakh to 1.9 Lakh and deaths around 3,000,” Sanjeev added.