COVID-19 cases see 10-fold rise, but hospitalisation stays low

Karnataka sees 10-fold rise in COVID-19 active cases in 10 days; 13 deaths, mostly with comorbidities.

COVID-19 active cases in Karnataka have seen over a 10-fold rise in the last 10 days — from 79 on December 19 to 833 on December 30. Since December 15, the State has reported 13 deaths, of which three were infected with JN.1, the new sub-variant of Omicron.

However, there is no spurt in hospitalisations at the moment. As of Saturday, 50 patients were in hospitals, and only 15 being treated in ICUs. All the ICU patients and the 13 who died are those with comorbidities.

COVID-19 experts said this indicated that although the new variant is highly infectious, as of now, it is causing serious infection only in the elderly and in those with comorbidities. While asserting that the situation is not alarming, experts said the next few weeks after the festive season are crucial.

State Health Commissioner Randeep D. said the COVID-19 death audit committee headed by TAC Chairman K. Ravi met on Friday. “Almost 90% of the deaths seem to be either due to comorbidities with COVID-19 being incidental or at best aggravating the comorbid conditions,” he said.

“Experts believe that we are seeing an endemic surge at this stage which could not be necessarily termed as a wave. Statistical prediction models may help us project the peak, and we are awaiting the estimation of JN.1 burden by IISc and the Indian Statistical Institute,” he said.