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.
