The frightening march of COVID-19 second wave continued in Karnataka as 29,438 new cases and 208 deaths were reported on Saturday. With this, the total number of cases in the State now stands at 13,04,397.
Bengaluru Urban remained the most affected with as many as 17,342 new cases and 149 deaths, according to the media bulletin of the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
The total number of active cases in the capital now stands at 1.62 lakh as against the State’s 2.34 lakh. As many as 1,280 patients are in the ICU. The positivity rate in the State stood at 15.52, and case fatality rate 0.7. The number of tests conducted was 1.89 lakh, which means this year, as many as 1.03 crore tests have been completed, and since 2020, 2.45 crore tests.
With 9,058 new recoveries, the total number of discharged patients in Karnataka went up to 10.55 lakh. Overall, there have been 13.04 positive cases in the State. As many as 14,283 people have lost their lives so far.
Earlier in the day, speaking to mediapersons, Health Minister K. Sudhakar referred to the severity of the second wave and said the new variants were posing a challenge to the medical fraternity too, and in this wave, propelled by what was being dubbed as the Indian variant, the demand for oxygen was far higher than in the first.
On the weekend lockdown that kicked in the State, he said, “The Spanish flu lasted two years and was four to six times more deadly. In the COVID-19 second wave, the fatality rate is 0.4 to 0.5%. The new set of restrictions are aimed at breaking the chain,” he added.
Referring to the sudden spike in the number of people developing breathing problems and requiring oxygen and hospitalisation this time, he said this was not the case during the first wave. “The virus will undergo continuous changes,” he said, urging the media to focus on the recoveries too. “Many have recovered without treatment. There is 86.43% recovery rate,” he added.
