Smell test for mall-goers: Bengaluru Mayor Goutham Kumar's unique proposal to detect coronavirus cases

In a unique initiative taken by Bengaluru Mayor to detect positive coronavirus cases in the city, M Goutham Kumar recommended a smell test for those who want to visit the shopping malls.

The Bengaluru Mayor maintains that a smell check can help detect a person who might be infected with Covid-19 as people affected with Covid lose the sense of smell.

Loss of smell, or anosmia, is one of the several reported symptoms of the deadly virus. The smell check will prove that your olfactory organs are working correctly.

Along with temperature check/thermal screening, the smell check can be done before Bangaloreans are allowed entry inside a mall, Goutham Kumar stated on Tuesday, July 28.

Bengaluru Mayor waits for CM's clearance

The Bengaluru Mayor has also written to Chief Minister Yediyurappa regarding the same. Kumar said that if a person can't smell things, they will not be allowed to enter the mall.

"Coronavirus patients suffer from loss of sense of taste and smell. I will write a letter to Karnataka CM and Health Minister. Smell tests should be made compulsory in malls. People who can't smell should be tested immediately. Smell should also be a criterion," India Today quoted Goutham Kumar as saying.

Karnataka coronavirus tally crosses 1-lakh mark

The above initiative was announced as coronavirus cases in Karnataka breached the one lakh mark on Monday (July 27). The state reported a biggest single-day spike of 5,324 new infections and 75 deaths, taking the overall death toll to 1,953.

According to the Karnataka health department, as many as 1,847 Covid patients were discharged after recovery. Out of 5,324 new infections reported, a whopping 1,470 were from Bengaluru urban alone.

Meanwhile, CM Yediyurappa said that people have to learn to live with Covid-19, signifying how people had to get back to their daily lives despite the rising threat of the deadly virus.