Covid-19 Karnataka: Weekly cases have surpassed 12,000 for the first time since mid-November

Weekly Covid-19 cases in Karnataka surpassed 12,000 for the first time since mid-November, with 15,365 cases recorded in the seven days between March 22 and 28, despite Proper Precautions.

During the peak between July first week and mid-November, the number of cases per week surpassed 12,000 for 19 weeks out of the 55 weeks after the epidemic started in the state.

The second wave appears to be following the same pattern as the first: Cases were under 12,000 in the first 17 weeks after March 9, 2020, but they spiked between July 6 and 12 last year. There were 16,264 new cases in that week alone.

“In comparison to the national positivity rate of 1.5 percent, Karnataka’s positivity rate is 1.6 percent, which is not good,” K Sudhakar, the state’s health minister said. “People must follow the rules about masks and physical separation, and anyone who is eligible should get vaccinated. Containment mechanisms are now in effect, and tighter action will be enforced over time. Both chief ministers have been asked by the Centre to assess the situation in various educational institutions,” he also added.

The remaining 36 weeks, including the last six days, have only seen 15% of the incidents, but experts predict that if the second wave is as extreme as the first and the last week marks the start of a new high, the numbers will continue to grow.

Dr. V Ravi, a member of the scientific advisory committee and the nodal officer for SARSCoV2 genome sequencing, agreed with the assessment and urged caution.

“The reproductive number (R. No.) has reached 1.6, which means that for every 100 infected people, another 160 will become infected, the R. number of R-naught was under one for several months before March, and it has now returned to the rate of the peak in 2020,” Dr. Ravi said.

The state had a caseload of 9,87,012 cases as of Sunday, with more than 85 percent of those cases coming in the 19 weeks that included the peak and the tail-end of that period when new infections started to decline.