While the impending third wave of COVID-19 is predicted to affect children, at least 242 kids have tested positive for the virus in five days in Bengaluru. Karnataka on Tuesday reported 1,338 new cases and 31 deaths, according to the government data.
The Bengaluru civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said 242 children below the age of 19 tested positive in the last five days.
According to the data, 106 children below the age of 9 years and 136 children between 9 and 19 years have tested positive in the last five days in the city. The health department has warned that the positive cases of children may rise in the coming days.
An officer from the health department said the number will “triple” within a few days and “there is a great danger”. “All we can do is protect our children from this virus by keeping them inside the home. Children will not have much immunity compared to elder ones. It is highly recommended to parents that they keep children inside home and follow all the Covid-19 norms,” the official added.
In the wake of rising cases, the government of Karnataka has already ordered night and weekend curfews in all the districts, and entries to Kerala-Karnataka, Maharashtra-Karnataka borders have been restricted. Only those who can show their RTPCR test of less than 72 hours are allowed to enter the state.
According to reports, the government is likely to impose a partial lockdown from August 16.
Meanwhile, Karnataka has tested the third highest number of COVID-19 samples in the country,and has crossed the mark of over 4 Crore tests in the battle against the pandemic.
According to the state health department's COVID-19 bulletin last evening, a total of 4,01,04,915 samples have been tested in the state, of which 1,26,400 were tested on Tuesday alone. Out of over four crore tests till last evening 3,26,68,585 are RT-PCR tests and 74,36,330 are rapid-antigen detection tests.
