For the first time, Dakshina Kannada has overtaken Bengaluru Urban in the number of new cases posted on a single day.
On Sunday, Dakshina Kannada posted 410 new cases while Bengaluru Urban registered 409 fresh infections. This represents a 75.7% increase in cases in Dakshina Kannada over the past week. Last week, the district had registered 2,502 cases, as opposed to the 1,424 cases reported previous week, between July 19 to 25.
The development comes amid strident increases in the number of new Covid-19 cases in Karnataka since mid-April when the second wave was still climbing towards its peak.
In the past seven days, 12,442 new cases were recorded in the state, representing a 17.2% increase over the 10,610 new cases found the week before, between July 19-25. Perhaps unsurprisingly, more cases were found because the state increased its quantum of testing.
In the past seven days, the state conducted 9.81 lakh tests, which represents the highest testing rate in three weeks. This represents a 1.34% increase from the 9.68 lakh tests conducted the week before.
Case increases were also spotted in Bengaluru Urban, where, data shows, there was an increase of 16.2% in cases from last week and the week before. In numerical terms, this means that whereas 2,571 cases were found between July 19 and 25, some 2,988 cases were found this past week. This increase, however, comes amid declining test rates. The BBMP conducted 4.13 lakh tests this past week, which is 0.48% less than the 4.15 lakh tests conducted the week before.
The city’s case increases also came with a slightly elevated demand for beds.
The BBMP issued directions to mitigate further spread of the virus. All Covid-19 cases will be strictly triaged, plus labs and private hospitals have been directed to share their reports to BBMP and ICMR first. In addition, special teams are to enforce RT-PCR checks for Kerala and Maharashtra travellers.
Beyond Dakshina Kannada and Bengaluru Urban, 162 new cases were registered in Udupi district on Sunday followed by 146 cases in Mysuru district and 108 cases in Hassan district.
The state also discharged 1,875 people on Sunday, and together with the new cases, the state’s active caseload stood at 24,144.
Twenty-five new fatalities were also disclosed. Four had happened on Sunday. The lion’s share of the new fatalities was from Bengaluru Urban (8) and Dakshina Kannada (6). However, Bengaluru Urban has had no new fatalities since July 30, as per the data.
The youngest of the new fatalities disclosed was a 25-year-old man who died in Kolar on July 27, five days after being diagnosed with the disease. He did not have any recorded co-morbidities.
The oldest fatality was a 90-year-old man from Bengaluru Urban who died at a private hospital on July 18, 12 days after diagnosis. He was suffering from symptoms of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), and also suffered from diabetes and hypertension.
Vaccination scene
The state dispensed 3.56 lakh doses on Sunday. This elevated the state’s first dose coverage to 47.09%, with second dose coverage now standing at 12.86% of the target population.