Next 45 days 'crucial', 2nd Covid wave possible in Jan, Feb: Karnataka Health Minister

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 4 : The next 45 days are "crucial" as there is a possibility of a second Covid-19 wave in the months of January and February in 2021, Dr K Sudhakar, Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister said on Friday.
While addressing a meeting with the experts in Technical Advisory Committee, at Vidhana Soudha here today, he urged citizens to be cautious in the coming days.
"We all need to be extra cautious from December 20 to January 2 as there is a possibility of a second coronavirus wave in the months of January and February. Hence, the next 45 days are crucial," he said during the meeting.
Meanwhile, 1,247 more people contracted the infection across the state on Friday while another 877 recovered from the same. As many as 25,046 cases are active as on December 4, according to the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services.
Dr Sudhakar, while speaking to the reporters after the meeting, noted that the winter months of December, January, and February are conducive for the spread of the lethal virus making the next 45 days "crucial" for containing the pathogen.
"As per the record of other countries, it is observed that the second wave of Covid-19 occurred between 45-90 days of the receding of the initial wave. According to the Technical Advisory Committee's report, there are all possibilities of the second wave in Karnataka too. A detailed discussion has been done in the meeting regarding what precautionary measures need to be taken during this period. A discussion will be held with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa regarding the same soon," he said.
Public gatherings during the next 15 days must be handled with utmost precaution while marriage functions should not exceed 100 people. Religious activities and political events should not have more than 200 members, the minister said while urging people to avoid public gatherings as much as possible.
Besides, the use of masks, following social distancing and other Covid-19 guidelines must be meticulously followed.
As the next year is on the brink, the Health and Medical Education Minister said that holding celebrations for the new year are "meaningless". "There is no meaning in celebrations when there are losses of lives and livelihoods in the society. It is meaningless to celebrate New Year at this juncture. People should be sensible and follow coronavirus guidelines," he added.
A meeting is expected to be held during the third week of December to decide whether the schools and colleges in the state are to be opened.
A total of 8,90,360 positive cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the state so far, including 11,834 fatalities and 8,53,461 recoveries, as per the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services' data on Friday.