B’luru among top 10 cities with maximum active Covid-19 cases

Bengaluru

With 5,825 active Covid-19 cases, Bengaluru is among the top 10 worst affected districts in the country, according to the Union health ministry. Bengaluru accounts for most of the 7,831 active cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Karnataka and 12,381 deaths (until 5 pm on Thursday).

“In the last 24 hours in neighboring Maharashtra, more than 13,000 cases of coronavirus have been discovered, which bothers me. Consider this a cautious bell. No matter if it is a festival, or any event, wear a mask and maintain physical distance. Stay away from crowds,” K. Sudhakar, Karnataka’s health, family welfare and medical education minister said in a Twitter post on Thursday.

Bengaluru reported 492 new cases on Wednesday. The state reports the total number of cases in 24 hours.

There are a total of 189,226 active cases in the country while 158,189 people have succumbed to the infection so far, the Union health ministry said.

Karnataka, which was one of the first states to impose the lockdown last year, was also among the first to relax restrictions to allow economic activities to resume in the cash-starved state.

Bengaluru, with a population of over 10 million, has let its guard down in the past few months despite the threat of the novel coronavirus disease being just as potent as last year.

Stating that some private schools in the state have restarted physical classes without government’s approval, Sudhakar warned them of strict action.

Among those who violate Covid-19 regulations include the political class in Karnataka with leaders across parties holding meetings, public gatherings and other events in the last few months. Besides, the budget session of the Karnataka legislature is currently underway.

Meanwhile, the state has also confirmed 29 people infected with the UK strain of virus and one with the South African strain.

Bengaluru, which has seen a steady rise in cases, has recorded a total of 409,655 Covid-19 cases since March 8 last year, when the first case in the state was reported in the city. It has accounted for 4,514 out of the total 12,381 deaths due to the infection in the state, according to the health department data.

Other districts in the state with high active cases include Belagavi with 97 cases, Dakshina Kannada 213, Kalaburagi 242, Tumakuru 198, Mysuru 178 and Udupi with 124 cases.

Marshals of the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the city’s civic body) on Thursday visited several temples to ensure people adhered to the Covid-19 guidelines on the occasion of Mahashivratri.

Lack of proper safety precautions, parties and other public events have given rise to clusters in the city, according to officials and elected representatives. Bengaluru has, so far, conducted tests on nearly eight million people, including 35,790 on Wednesday. According to BBMP data, the city has an active rate of 1.35% with 0.87% fatality rate.

The Karnataka government has banned all late-night parties in the wake of surge in Covid-19 cases.

So far, Karnataka has conducted 34,359 vaccination drives, in which 1,174,247 people have been vaccinated, according to government data.