Stampeding crowd ideal for Covid surge; against state's own advisory

WHILE the Chinnaswamy Stadium tragedy that claimed 11 young lives is shocking, another possible tragedy may be in waiting — a massive surge in Covid-19 cases in Bengaluru.

- RISHITA KHANNA @ Bengaluru

The lakhs-strong gatherings on Wednesday — of about 1 lakh in front of Vidhana Soudha — for the felicitation of the IPL 2025 champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team — and about 3 lakhs around M Chinnaswamy Stadium who were trying to attend the celebrations inside the stadium — were in complete contradiction to the Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) advisory that the Karnataka government itself had issued on May 23, even as the cases were rising.

Incidentally, on Wednesday, the fateful day when the large gatherings led to the fatal stampede, the Health and Family Welfare Department reported a massive jump in the number of Covid cases from 53 to 153, while the positivity rate was 25.8% and the case fatality rate was 1.3%.