After Kerala, Covid-19 cases rise in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka

As Kerala battles a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the delta variant logging over 22,000 daily infections for the better part of a week, neighbours Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also recorded a rise in cases after nearly three weeks and over two months respectively on Thursday.

Triggering fears of the possible onset of a third wave, Karnataka saw a rise in cases after 19 days from 1,531 on Wednesday to 2,052 on Thursday. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu saw its daily Covid-19 cases rise from 1,56 to 1,859, registering a spike after 69 days. Daily Covid-19 death toll in Karnataka fell below 20 for the first time in three months.

Correspondingly, single-day Covid-19 cases across India also saw an uptick — with Kerala accounting for over half the cases — on Thursday and Friday. The number of cases on Thursday (43,509) was the highest since July 7. On Friday, the cases further rose to 44,230.

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Unlike Kerala, however, where only 44 per cent of the population was exposed to the coronavirus, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu's population had a seroprevalance of 69.2 and 69.8 per cent respectively — higher than the national average of 67.6 per cent.

On Thursday, Kerala announced a complete lockdown on July 31 and August 1 as cases continued to rise. Many parts of the state were already under lockdown-like curbs. The state's test positivity rate currently stands at 13.53 per cent. The Centre even sent a six-member delegation to aid the state in managing the Covid-19 situation.