BENGALURU: The third Covid-19 wave in Karnataka can be expected by September-end or the beginning of October. Generally, four to six weeks after a surge in seen in Kerala, there is a rise in cases in Karnataka, said Dr C N Manjunath, director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research.
“If the same virus strain is seen, the third wave won’t be as severe as the second wave, but that may not be the case if we see a new variant. The government of India says we don’t need to test those coming in from other states who have received both doses of the vaccine, but this cannot apply to Kerala, which is contributing 65 per cent of the country’s caseload. They need to show RT-PCR negative report while entering, quarantine for a week here, and undergo a retest, before being declared safe,” said Dr Manjunath, who is nodal officer for Covid-19 testing in Karnataka and member of the Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee.
He said the state must not drop Covid testing till December. The situation in Kerala is alarming, with one in every five persons being Covid-positive. Stringent checks are being conducted at border checkposts to regulate people coming in for commercial, business and educational activities. Last time, the clusters started with nursing colleges in Mangaluru, where students from Kerala came to study. There are 25-30 nursing colleges in Mangaluru in Udupi, he pointed out.
“The challenge for the next wave is to ensure enough vaccines, and to vaccinate more people. We need to err on the side of maximum preparedness. The only worry is further mutations and immune escape variants as different strains evoke different antibodies,” he said.
Dr Manjunath said that Covid testing in Karnataka is robust, with 264 private and government labs combined for the purpose. Oxygen capacity is good, with all district hospitals and medical college hospitals having oxygen generators.
The government has stocked up on drugs, including steroids, Remdesivir, Amphotericin B, Immunoglobulins for children developing Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) post-Covid, etc. District-level task forces have been constituted and pediatric facilities strengthened in terms of numbers and training, he added.