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Bangalore: Slowly but surely, rising Covid-19 cases are becoming a bigger concern in Bengaluru than finding the source of the Omicron variant in a patient with no travel history to the city.
Brihat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner Gaurav Gupta does not want to speculate whether the rise in cases is an indicator of the start of a third wave of infections, but said preparations to contain and manage cases have begun.
“Finding the source of the Omicron variant is very difficult, but the task at hand is to test patients, isolate them and trace and track the primary and secondary contacts of each case. Even in the two Omicron cases, we tracked and tested over 200 contacts,” Gupta told ThePrint.
Ever since two cases of the Omicron variant were flagged off in Bengaluru on December 2, concerns have been raised over the rising number of cases. As on December 1, Bengaluru Urban registered 4,925 active COVID cases. In a week on December 8, this number was 5,436. Bengaluru Urban reported 244 fresh Covid cases on Wednesday.
“Bengaluru (urban) had registered less than 150 cases every day for three-four months. Still, the uptake is very modest. Our focus is to vaccinate all eligible citizens. The initial bottlenecks of inadequate vaccine supply are no longer present, but citizens were complacent as the second wave passed,” Gupta said.
He said the fear of two omicron cases reported in the city has been drawing citizens to vaccination centers over the past week. “We expect about 90,000 people to take the vaccine on weekdays and that’s 1 percent of the total eligible population,” Gupta said.
BBMP has identified 91.70 lakh citizens in Bengaluru as eligible population for vaccination. As of December 6, 68 percent of this eligible population had received both doses of vaccination, while 89 percent had received a single dose.
Apart from 141 stationary immunization counters, drive-in immunization counters and vaccine-on-wheel initiatives at primary health centres, BBMP is now also setting up immunization counters in malls.
“The government is making two doses of vaccine mandatory for visiting public places like malls, cinema halls etc.,” Gupta said.
Read also: Omicron unlikely to completely weed out antibodies, shows US study using AI tools
‘Won’t speculate about another wave’
Bengaluru saw a severe shortage of healthcare infrastructure during the second wave of Covid-19. To deal with the demand, BBMP set up an independent COVID helpline, 24/7 call center to assist patients and hospital bed allocation management system.
After the end of the second wave, all these initiatives were shelved. With the cases on the rise again, the BBMP is reinventing itself.
“I don’t want to speculate whether this is another wave or what to expect during a possible peak, but it all depends on the COVID-appropriate behavior of the people. We need to stop the spread of the infection and wearing a mask is the only way,” he said. “Vaccination has to go along with wearing a mask. Masks reduce transmission and vaccination reduces the chances of hospitalisation,” said Gupta.
‘Don’t expect a second wave-like scenario’
BBMP’s Covid helpline ‘1533’ is active, but Gupta expects the situation to not be like that during the second wave.
“At the administrative level, we are prepared to face any eventuality, but I do not expect a second wave-like scenario. Thousands of BBMP personnel are in control, contact tracing, vaccination and testing teams,” said Gupta.
The BBMP commissioner said that while containment and restrictions are readily available solutions, the agency or the government would not want to disrupt normal life.
(Edited by Amit Upadhyay)
Read also: Center tells states that omicron patients to be treated in designated COVID facilities
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