Bengaluru: Slowly but surely, rising Covid-19 cases appear to be becoming a bigger concern in Bengaluru than finding the source of Omicron variant in a patient in the city with no travel history.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Gaurav Gupta doesn’t want to speculate if the uptick in cases is an indicator of the onset of a third wave of infections, but said preparations have begun to contain and manage cases.
“Finding the source of the Omicron variant is very difficult but the task at hand is to test, isolate patients and trace and track primary and secondary contacts of every case. In the two Omicron cases too, we tracked and tested more than 200 contacts each,” Gupta told ThePrint.
Ever since two cases of Omicron variant were flagged in Bengaluru on 2 December, there have been concerns over rising cases. On 1 December, Bengaluru urban reported 4,925 active Covid cases. In a week, on 8 December, the number stood at 5,436. Bengaluru urban reported 244 fresh Covid cases Wednesday.
“For three-four months Bengaluru (urban) had reported under 150 cases every day. Even now, the uptick is very slight. Our focus continues to be to vaccinate all eligible citizens. The initial hiccups of insufficient vaccine supply do not exist anymore but citizens had become complacent as the second wave passed,” Gupta said.
Fears over the two Omicron cases reported in the city seem to be drawing citizens back to vaccination centres over the last week, he added. “We expect some 90,000 people to take vaccines during the weekdays and that is 1 per cent of the total eligible population,” Gupta said.
The BBMP has identified 91.70 lakh citizens in Bengaluru as eligible population for vaccination. As on 6 December, 68 per cent of this eligible population had been covered with both doses of vaccination while 89 per cent had been administered one dose.
Apart from the 141 static vaccination counters at primary health centres, drive-in vaccination counters and vaccines-on-wheels initiatives, the BBMP is also now setting up vaccination counters at malls.
“The government making two doses of vaccine mandatory to visit public places like malls, cinema halls etc is helping us,” Gupta said.
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‘Wouldn’t speculate about another wave’
Bengaluru saw severe healthcare infrastructure shortage during the second wave of Covid-19. To tackle demand, the BBMP set up an independent Covid helpline, a 24/7 call centre to assist patients and a hospital bed allocation management system.
All these initiatives had gone cold since the second wave abated. With cases again on the upward spike, BBMP is bracing itself.
“I wouldn’t want to speculate if this is another wave or what to expect during a possible peak but everything depends on people’s Covid-appropriate behaviour. We need to contain the spread of infection and masking up is the only way,” he said. “Vaccination has to go together with mask-wearing. Masks cut down transmission and vaccination reduces chances of hospitalisation,” Gupta added.
‘Don’t expect second wave kind of scenario’
The BBMP’s Covid helpline ‘1533’ is active, but Gupta hopes that a situation like the one during the second wave is not created.
“At the administrative level, we are geared up to face any eventuality but I don’t expect a second wave kind of scenario. Thousands of BBMP staff in containment, contact tracing, vaccination and testing teams are in place,” Gupta said.
The BBMP commissioner added that while containment and restrictions are readily available solutions, the agency or the government would not want to disrupt normal life.
(Edited by Amit Upadhyaya)
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