Karnataka Covid: No Need To Fear Or Have Panic Reactions, Says Top Bengaluru Doctor Amid 4th Wave Fears

Karnataka recorded 60 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero fatalities on Sunday, taking the total infections in the state to 39,46,934, and death toll to 40,057

Bengaluru: Amid the concerning spike in the covid cases,  Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, a renowned Bengaluru-based cardiac surgeon, on Monday said that there is no need to fear or panic now and the focus should be on the number of hospitalisations, not the positivity. He also advised people to continue to wear masks and maintain social distance. “Third wave was not that serious, so there is no need to fear or have panic reactions. We should only go by the number of patients admitted to the hospital. One lakh people or 50,000 people getting positive does not mean anything,” Shetty said.

Speaking to reporters, he further added, “The whole country may be positive, but if there are no COVID patients in hospital, it doesn’t make any difference. So concentration should be on the number of patients in the hospital, not the positivity.”

The founder-chairman of Narayana Health advised people to continue wearing masks and practice social distancing and consult doctors if there are any health issues.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, on the other hand, held a review meeting on Monday with senior ministers, officials and health experts to access the current Covid situation in the state. “We’ve taken a couple of important decisions including issuing an advisory to all the people that masking should happen in public areas. We are asking people to avoid unnecessary congregations and maintain social distancing,” Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said after the meeting.

The chief minister earlier had said that the state government will bring guidelines after a video conference meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. “A slight increase in cases has been recorded in Kerala and Maharashtra in the last 8-10 days. Based on the experience of the last three waves, experts too have suggested suitable precautionary measures,” he said on Sunday.

Covid Situation in Karnataka  

Karnataka logged 60 fresh cases of covid-19 and zero fatalities on Sunday, taking the total infections in the state to 39,46,934, and death toll to 40,057. Of the total infections, the Bengaluru Urban district saw 57 while Chitradurga, Dharwad and Vijayapura reported one infection each. There were zero infections in 27 districts of the state.

Sixty-three people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 39,05,159 to date.