With schools and colleges having opened, the proportion of child Covid cases increased slightly this past week, data shows.
Some 91 cases of pre-teens (0-9) were recorded in the past seven days (October 25 to 31), as opposed to 69 the week before. In addition, 318 new cases were noted among teenagers this week (10-19), compared to 293 the week before.
The new child cases were found amidst generally declining Covid-19 cases. In the last week, 2,347 cases were found, out of which, 292 were added on Sunday. The week’s number represents a 7.6% drop compared to the 2,527 cases found between October 18 and 24.
Sunday’s figures, coupled with 345 discharges, leave Karnataka's active caseload at 8,644.
One hundred and thirty-seven of Sunday’s new cases originated out of Bengaluru Urban. The next highest numbers were 33 cases in Mysuru district, 26 in Hassan district and 24 in Dakshina Kannada.
After a decline in the second week of October, the state’s testing rates have picked up somewhat. In the last week, Karnataka conducted 7.04 lakh tests, lower than the 7.37 lakh tests conducted the week before that but higher than the 6.22 lakh tests conducted between 11 to 17 October.
In the limits of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), testing has been a steady 3.15 lakh in the last two weeks, which represents an increase over the 2.90 lakh tests done in the second week of the month.
The state also revealed 11 new deaths on Sunday, seven of which originated from Bengaluru Urban. Three of the fatalities, from Mysuru and Chikkaballapur, happened on Sunday.
The youngest of the 11 fatalities was a 33-year-old man from Mysuru who died on Sunday at a private hospital in Mysuru. He did not have any recorded comorbidities and perished within two days of the diagnosis of the disease.
Vaccine update
The state conducted 19.9 lakh vaccinations in the past week, which is an 18.8% drop compared to the 24.6 lakh doses administered two weeks before. With 6,53,43,632 doses having been administered in the state so far, Karnataka’s first dose coverage stands at 85.33% while its second dose coverage is 45.90%.