Bengaluru surpasses the million mark in total Covid-19 cases

Picture used for representational purpose only

Bengaluru: On Thursday, Bengaluru’s total Covid tally crossed the million mark as it reported 25% of the cases in the past 13 days. This highlights the severity of the second wave under which the city is struggling.

The city, on Thursday, witnessed 15,191 new Covid-19 cases which have taken the total caseload to 10,14,996. Karnataka recorded 35,297 cases and 344 related fatalities. 1.24 lakh people were tested in the last 24 hours. The State’s daily positivity rate stands at 27.6%.

According to the state’s projections, the city is likely to see a decline in the number of cases by the end of May.

On April 30, the city witnessed its highest ever number of Covid cases which were 26,756 and the total caseload reached 7,56,740 the same day. The city, since then, has been reporting cases in the range of 15,000 to 23,000. It has witnessed around 2.6 lakh fresh infections in the next 13 days.

30% of Bengaluru’s total deaths have come between May 1 and 13. On April 30, the city’s total deaths were 6,375. It saw more than 2,750 deaths in the next 13 days. On Thursday, the city witnessed 161 deaths and its total number of deaths stood at 9,125. It recorded 374 deaths on May 10 which was its highest daily Covid toll. Since May 1, its active caseload has risen from 2.6 lakh to 3.6 lakh. The biggest task was to keep a check on those in home isolation.

BBMP chief commissioner, Gaurav Gupta said that people who have been tested should not wait for the results and must immediately isolate themselves. He said, “We’ve set up 28 triage centres, which enable walk-in facility for Covid patients. In addition, our special teams manage home isolation cases and they also visit patients at home, hand-stamp them after thoroughly examining the feasibility of home isolation.”

Gupta also said, “With cases increasing in early April in States like Maharashtra and Kerala, we should have imposed restrictions on the movement of people. This could have reduced the surge in Bengaluru.”

However, the city is seeing a decline in the number of cases. Since May 10, it is reporting around 16,000 cases a day. He added, “Prohibitory orders have had their impact. It’s not tough to control the virus. Mask and physical distance can make a huge difference.”