According to the state’s Covid-19 task force, oxygen pipelines will be connected to 4,736 beds in 17 Government medical colleges
Responding to the demand for adequate oxygen supply for patients seeking Covid-19 treatment, the Karnataka government has decided to link oxygen pipelines to over 4,000 beds in medical colleges.
According to the state’s Covid-19 task force, oxygen pipelines will be connected to 4,736 beds in 17 Government medical colleges which would enable high flow oxygen for the beds, adding that it would be beneficial for future uses as well.
Remdesivir — a drug used for #coronavirus treatment —will be supplied to private hospitals through government, #Karnataka #Covid_19 task force decides. This is expected to curb black marketing of the drug. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/T2uJlzirtx
— Ralph Alex Arakal (@ralpharakal) July 21, 2020
In another important decision, the state government has decided to regulate the supply of Remdesivir — a drug used for the treatment of coronavirus patients.
“Remdesivir, which is currently available in the government hospitals, will be supplied to private hospitals through the government. This will help to curb black marketing of this drug,” Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said.
Karnataka ramps up testing, 35,000 Antigen tests new daily target
Karnataka Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said the state is now aiming to conduct 35,000 antigen tests to determine Covid-19 on a daily basis.
“In order to ramp up testing in containment zones, 2 lakh rapid Antigen test kits have been procured and supplied to all districts across the state,” he said.
In addition to this, the government also decided to establish 16 RTPCR and 15 Automated RNA extraction units across the state.
With the newly procured kits, a cumulative 50,000 antigen tests will be conducted in Bengaluru Urban and Rural Districts alone, Sudhakar added.
As many as 19,328 antigen tests were done across the state on Tuesday.
Govt announces salary hike to healthcare professionals
The Karnataka government has decided to release Rs 48,000 monthly salary to 2000 AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) doctors in the state.
According to Minister K Sudhakar, while AYUSH doctors will get Rs 48,000 in salaries for the next 6 months, MBBS doctors and nurses will be paid Rs 80,000 and Rs 30,000 monthly for the next six months.
However, in a contradicting statement, Health Minister B Sriramulu said the salary is fixed at Rs 45,000 monthly for AYUSH doctors.
“The decision to raise the salary of 2000 AYUSH doctors to Rs 45,000 was taken at a meeting chaired by CM Yediyurappa. Assurance has been given that the demand of private AYUSH doctors too will be reviewed and a decision regarding the same will be taken at the earliest,” Health Minister B Sriramulu said.
Further, the Minister claimed that all doctors who were protesting for the same have withdrawn their resignations and have reported to work. The doctors had threatened mass resignation if their salaries were not adjusted.
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As of Tuesday, Karnataka has cumulatively reported 71,069 Covid-19 cases and 1464 deaths. Of these, 34,943 cases and 720 fatalities have been linked to the pandemic from capital city Bengaluru alone.
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