Worst of Covid yet to come: BBMP chief

BENGALURU: With no vaccine in sight yet and cases rising, wearing a mask is the only way to protect yourself from Covid-19, said Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad. 
To reduce positivity and fatality rates, citizens welfare groups will now have to work with the Palike in fighting the disease.

Prasad said the positivity rate at present is 12 per cent, which needs to come down to five per cent. Fatality rate, which is at 1.33 per cent, should be brought down to less than one per cent. “Aggressive testing needs to happen, and so, citizens welfare groups must come forward to help the BBMP in identifying and bringing people to testing centres,” he said. 

At a virtual meeting with ward-level nodal officers and resident welfare associations on Saturday, the commissioner said that the worst spike in cases is yet come. “Experts say this is because lockdown restrictions have been lifted and people are on the move.

Till a vaccine is found, the only solution is wearing a mask. It has been decided to give hand-held devices to marshals and the police to penalise those not wearing masks. The government is also working on increasing the penalty for not wearing masks from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000,” he said.

Dr Giridhar Babu, professor and head Lifecourse Epidemiology, Public Health Foundation of India, said, “Bengaluru hasn’t seen its highest case surge yet. RWAs and influential citizens must take the lead in helping out the BBMP. Thinking that the worst is over is wrong - this is just the beginning.”