Covid fear returns in Karnataka; Health Department on alert

The Karnataka Health Department has undertaken a slew of measures following the rise of Covid cases in the state in the last one week. The meeting of Covid Experts committee has discussed the prevailing situation and the department has undertaken a serological survey.

The state recorded 230 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate has gone up to 1.92 per cent and active cases in the state have risen to 2,441.

Experts suggest to make masks compulsory, implement guidelines, and conduct genomic sequencing tests. They have also suggested increasing the number of Covid tests and to keep vigil on International passengers, sources in the Health Department said on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the state Health Department has confirmed that it has begun the third round of the serological survey of children between 6 to 14 years across the state.

The blood samples of 5,072 children are being collected. Through this survey, the possibility of a fourth Covid wave and its impact on children will be known.

The samples of children who have not taken Covid vaccination are collected. Two ml blood and swabs from nose and throat are also collected. The examination of these samples will help understand whether children have a natural immunity or have developed antibodies against the virus due to infection.

The survey will reveal the impact of the coronavirus in the fourth wave. It was predicted that children would be most affected in the third wave. However, the survey conducted on the Omicron variant did not show any impact on children.

The special teams have been formed to conduct serological surveys at district and taluk levels. The samples would be collected monitored by pediatricians. The team will also comprise experts from Integrated Counselling and Testing Center (ICTC) and lab technicians. A web-based application is developed to collect and store data.