Karnataka witnesses 1,200 deaths in 2021, 62% in 3 weeks

Picture used for representational purpose only

Bengaluru: For the first time, in less than three weeks this month, Karnataka has witnessed more deaths pushing the total number of deaths in 2021 beyond 1,000.

According to the reports, the state had 477 Covid fatalities in January, February and March 2021, whereas April saw 784 Covid deaths within 18 days.

Out of 1,261 deaths in 2021, around 64% (806) were reported in Bengaluru, which also recorded the highest number of deaths in April (504) since October 2020. The city shared 64% of deaths in April.

Need to implement strict measures

As the Covid deaths are increasing in 2021, the state appears to be in a bad situation as compared to the previous year despite having experience in dealing with the pandemic and a more standard treatment protocol.

Even though the government states that things are under control, there are apparent shortages of beds, oxygen and drugs like remdesivir which is being a major concern.

Biologist, Dr V Ravi had earlier said that the second wave was less severe than the first one. As there is a need to have a detailed genomic study to understand what percentage of the infections is caused by a mutant virus or new variants, Dr CN Manjunath, member of state Covid-19 task force said that there is an urgent need to focus on enhancing testing, tracking and treatment.

According to experts, these steps will be effective to keep deaths under control. As per the health department, 620 patients across the state, including 124 in Bengaluru were in ICU as of April 18. Comparatively, there were 266 patients in the ICU as of March 31. On Sunday, health minister K Sudhakar said about additional containment measures, “In the wake of the widespread infections in Bengaluru, there is a need to implement stringent measures. This will be discussed with the chief minister. The Centre has pointed out that the virus has spread to the community in Bengaluru.”

Minister R Ashoka held an informal meeting with the MLAs and MPs and ministers on Sunday during which he said that the containment measures will be mindful of the hardships of the economically weaker section, indicating that there may not be a total lockdown.