3rd Covid wave could hit Karnataka in Oct-Nov: Advisory Committee

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has urged the state government to strictly enforce the COVID norms ahead of the next wave of corona looming in October-November. ‘It will be a total mess if guidelines are not followed at this stage’, TAC said at its meeting yesterday. Although the state is seeing fewer new cases daily, the government should not let its guard down during festivals because it will bring the third wave to the state.

As of August 28, the Central government had instructed all states and union territories to ensure there are no large gatherings and to take proactive measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. ‘It is important to identify warning signs of potential surges early on and to take appropriate measures to curb the spread. This would require a localised approach, as has been mentioned in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) advisories dated April 25 and June 28,’ said Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, who extended COVID-19 guidelines until September 30th.

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In addition, the committee discussed cluster reports from a nursing college in Horamavu and apartments in Mangaluru, Bengaluru, and elsewhere. The New Indian Express reported that a similar scenario occurred in March-April 2021, resulting in the devastating second wave of COVID-19.

The Christian Nursing College in Horamavu, Bengaluru was temporarily closed earlier this month after 34 COVID-19 positive cases were reported. As a result, Karnataka’s Minister of Health and Medical Education, Dr. K Sudhakar, warned colleges against accepting students from states such as Kerala and Maharashtra. The experts’ committee may ask the state government to take a decision after observing the situation after the Ganeshotsav celebrations, according to reports.

Karnataka has less than 2% Covid positivity rate across all districts. Curfews have been lifted this week in districts bordering Kerala and Maharashtra after stringent measures to prevent Covid-19 infections were taken. The state government has restricted the movement of students, employees, among others, coming from Kerala to the state till October 31.