Covid third wave in Karnataka peak in next week, R Ashok hints to extend weekend curfew

Amid the massive surge in COVID cases in Karnataka, and Bengaluru in particular, state minister R Ashoka said on Monday that the Covid 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 Karnataka.

“The experts are of the opinion that the COVID third wave cases may reach the peak on January 25 in Karnataka, 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. This comes, as the state on Monday records 27,156 new Covid-19 cases. Of the new cases today, 15,947 cases were reported from Bengaluru alone.

Currently, the positivity rate in the Karnataka stands at 12.45%. On Sunday, over 34,000 infections were reported from the Karnataka. 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 Karnataka. Earlier this month the Karnataka 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. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who chaired a COVID review meeting today, stressed on focusing on home isolation. He issued new instructions for focusing more on Outpatient Departments in Bengaluru and deploying more personnel there.

Also Read: Centre revises guidelines for Covid-19 treatment

Bommai suggested officers to control people getting admitted for triaging and attending to the phone call of those under home isolation. “The COVID patients with comorbidities should be contacted at least once in a day and they should be enquired about their health to instil a sense of confidence in them,” the statement said.