BENGALURU: As if to make up for the apparent lack of preparedness in anticipating the severity of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Karnataka Government is forming teams and preparing strategies well ahead of a third wave. With experts suggesting that the third wave may hit the state between October and November, the government has constituted a task force that will be headed by eminent cardiologist and health entrepreneur Dr Devi Prasad Shetty. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday announced that the task force will strategise the state’s preparedness. The announcement comes even as the state is grappling to manage the current situation.
To give a fillip to its vaccination drive, that is moving at snail’s pace due to shortage of vaccines, the government has decided to appoint Prof Gagandeep Kang, a prominent microbiologist from Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, who is part of various think tanks and advisory committees for the World Health Organisation. She has worked on the development and use of vaccines for rotaviruses, cholera, and typhoid, conducting large studies to define burden, test vaccines, and measure their impact.
“We are implementing robust strategies to fight this pandemic. Prof Gagandeep Kang will help the govt in formulating a vaccination strategy while the task force, headed by Dr Devi Shetty, will assist the government to prepare for the mitigation of a possible third wave,” said Yediyurapppa. In a show of unity and attempt at being “transparent” in the measures taken to manage the pandemic, the CM, along with Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, ministers R Ashoka, Dr K Sudhakar and Arvind Limbavali addressed an hour-long press conference.
While the ministers reeled out numbers to suggest that there was no shortage of any resources - be it beds, Remdesivir, oxygen or ICU and ventilator beds - the attempt fell short of explaining the oxygen shortage which led to several deaths in the state. On two questions related to the Chamarajanagar incident, where 24 patients died within 24 hours, the CM said, “Since the matter is still being investigated, we will not make any comment until a final report is submitted.”
Yediyurappa, along with ministers, insisted that all necessary requirements were being met. “In March last year, the Health Department had only 1,970 oxygenated beds, 444 ICUs and 610 ICUs with ventilators. Now the Department has more than 24,000 oxygenated beds, 1,145 ICU beds, 2,058 ventilated beds and 1,248 beds with HFNCs. Under the Medical Education Department, the number of oxygen beds has increased from 4,700 to 9,405. The number of ventilated beds are up from 341 to 646 and HFNCs from 15 to 570,” he claimed.
They insisted that the government is tackling the increased oxygen requirement through a three-pronged strategy of increasing supply of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), massive scaling up of localised generation capacity through oxygen generators, large-scale procurement of concentrators and cylinders. “In March, oxygen requirement was 100-150 MT per day, but consumption has increased manifold to 1,200 tonnes per day now. We have ensured there is no shortage anywhere,” said Dr Ashwath Narayan. Even as citizens are struggling to find oxygenated beds, ICUs and medicines, the ministers insisted that more than the required supplies were available in the state.
On the vaccination front, the CM reiterated that priority will be given to those aged above 45 years and awaiting their second dose while those aged between 18-44 must wait their turn. Even as he spoke of plans to order five crore doses of vaccines, the State has so far only received 8.94 lakh doses, including 7.5 lakh of Covishield and 1.44 lakh of Covaxin, apart from the doses the Union Government sends for those above 45 years of age.
In a statement, Yediyurappa said Karnataka will chalk out a technology solution as an alternative to the CoWIN portal and relaunch the vaccination drive soon. “We imposed restrictions on April 24 and further made it more stringent from May 10. As a result of these measures, Covid-19 cases are coming under control. From the peak of 50,112 cases on May 5, the cases have come down to 39,900 on Wednesday. (In Bengaluru, 23,106 cases were reported on May 5, which has come down to 16,286 on Wednesday). In Bidar and Kalaburagi, which have seen an early peak, the number of cases and positivity is coming down faster,” Yediyurappa claimed.
However, it should be noted that testing has reduced in the state. From two lakh tests per day, Karnataka has reduced it to 1.2 lakh per day while the positivity rate remains high, hovering around 28-30 per cent over the last week.