Karnataka: Covid third wave may peak next week. Know about lockdown possibilities, weekend curfew
Premium- The experts are of the opinion that the COVID cases may reach the peak on January 25, after which it will gradually decrease, minister said
Amid the massive surge in COVID cases in Karnataka, and Bengaluru in particular, state minister R Ashoka said on Monday that the third wave, driven by the Omicron variant, will reach its peak next week. He pointed out, though the weekend curfew might be extended, there won't be lockdown in the state.
When will the third wave peak in Bengaluru, Karnataka?
"The experts are of the opinion that the COVID cases may reach the peak on January 25, after which it will gradually decrease. They were also of the view that the state should reduce testing from over two lakh a day to about 1.5 lakh as it does not help much," Ashoka said, PTI reported.
Similarly, Manindra Agrawal, IIT Kanpur professor, and the man behind Sutra Model, said that the third wave in the state will peak on 23 January while in Bengaluru it will be on 22 January.
The state had recorded 27,156 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours on Monday, while the positivity rate jumped to 12.45%. Of which, 15,947 cases were recorded from Bengaluru alone. State Omicron tally stands at 766.
Will there be a lockdown?
The minister added that the decision on extending the weekend curfew would be taken in the next emergency meeting on Friday. "Will wait for the peak to decide on extending the weekend curfew as it impacts public life," Ashoka said.
"We cannot risk the lives of 6.5 crore people to help hoteliers by lifting the weekend curfew. We will go by the experts, Centre and WHO's advisory on COVID," he replied to a query on the appeal of hoteliers not to impose weekend curfews. He, however, ruled out any possibility of lockdown in the state.
Earlier this month the state government imposed weekend curfew in the state in order to check the spread of coronavirus. As per the guidelines, a weekend curfew remains in force from Friday 10:00 pm to Monday 5:00 am.
The minister today attended a meeting chaired by CM Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
(With inputs from agencies)
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