Last services from terminal stations such as Nagasandra, Silk Institute, Mysuru Road, and Baiyappanahalli stations will begin at 7.30 pm on weekdays.Karnataka Bengaluru Coronavirus News April 23 Highlights: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has announced that no trains would be operated on Saturdays and Sundays, adhering to the government guidelines imposing restrictions during weekends till May 4, 2021.
However, during weekdays from Mondays to Fridays (from April 26 to May 4), trains will begin operations as usual at 7 am. However, last services from terminal stations such as Nagasandra, Silk Institute, Mysuru Road, and Baiyappanahalli stations will begin at 7.30 pm. All trains operating during the last service daily, during weekdays, will have connection trains at the Kempegowda Metro Station at Majestic as well, BMRCL clarified.
Karnataka registered 25,795 new Covid-19 infections and 123 related fatalities on Thursday. Of these, 15,244 new cases and 68 deaths were reported from Bengaluru Urban alone.
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Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar Friday condemned the state government for imposing a "lockdown-like curfew by forcefully closing down non-essential businesses."
The former minister added that the opposition was cooperating with the government "even though they failed miserably" from a humane perspective. "Nonetheless, forcible closure in any form is never acceptable. We will fight the government politically for taking such decisions," the Kanakapura MLA stressed.
As many as 50 industries have been exempted from the weekend curfew which will be in place from 9 pm on Fridays till 6 am on Mondays till May 4, beginning today.
In a clarification issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Commerce & Industries) Rajkumar Khatri, industries under ten various segments including those in the food-processing sector, pharmaceutical sector, aerospace and defence, business to business grocery, petroleum refineries, and critical IT infrastructure were named among those exempted from the restrictions.
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Acknowledging that the ongoing coronavirus second wave situation in Karnataka is getting more serious day after day, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Friday requested Prime Minister Modi to allocate 1,471 tonnes of medical oxygen daily for effective treatment of Covid-19 patients.
In a video conference held by the PM, Yediyurappa said, 'The demand and usage of medical oxygen have been increasing daily. We had used up 500 tonnes of oxygen yesterday (Thursday) alone.'
Further, as per a statement issued by the CM's office, Yediyurappa specified during the meeting, 'The Centre has allocated only 300 tonnes of oxygen to the state. Several healthcare facilities will have to be shut if the situation continues.'
Yediyurappa also added that the state was in need of two lakh more doses of Remdesivir within 10 days. He added that the state was witnessing a daily test positivity rate (TPR) of nearly 16 per cent with cities like Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumakuru, Ballari, Hassan, and Kalaburagi among areas that are worst-affected in the state.
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah continued to call out the alleged "inaction" of the BJP-led state government to take steps to help those in need during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. On Friday, he termed Covid-19 fatalities taking place in the state as "murders due to political irresponsibility” by the ruling government.
The senior Congress leader accused BJP leaders, both at the Central and state-level, of
ignored expert-warnings that a second wave was possible in February and March, 2021. "The BJP leaders chose to ignore these and instead claimed that they have combated Covid-19 well till the end. Even as the situation is grim and distressing, the government has chosen to snatch away the lives of small-scale businessmen my announcing curfews without any warning," he alleged. He also remarked that the government's decision to hike the price of fertilizeers and to reduce PDS (Public Distribution System) rice distribution by 2 kilograms to BPL (below poverty line) families by 2 kg was highly condemnable.
The former CM then urged Congress legislators to serve the people by arranging medical oxygen, medicines, hospital beds, and ambulance services to people in need in their own constituencies. He also appealed to the MLAs to make arrangements for sufficient food supply to the needy, similar to how it was down during the lockdown last year.
Passengers travelling between the Kempegowda International Airport and Bengaluru, in both directions, are likely to not be affected much due to the weekend curfew scheduled to be in place from 6 pm on Fridays to 9 am on Mondays for the next two weeks.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has announced that it will operate 48 services of Vayu Vajra (A/C volvo buses) connecting the airport to the city both on Saturday and Sunday.
"BMTC will also operate 500 essential ordinary services during the weekend-curfew for the benefit of employees working in permitted industries and government offices," officials clarified.
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has announced that it will operate buses only based on need and traffic density when weekend curfew will be in place, as per the restrictions announced by the state government in a bid to mitigate Covid-19 spread.
"The Government of Karnataka has imposed curfew in the State during the weekends i.e. from Friday 9 pm to Monday 6 am to contain Covid-19 transmission. During this period, KSRTC buses will be operated based on traffic density and need only," an official statement mentioned.
KSRTC has also requested passengers to compulsorily follow Covid-19 guidelines while travelling in their buses. Earlier today, BMRCL had announced that no metro trains will be operated during weekends.
In a bid to mitigate the scarcity of beds, the Karnataka government has allowed private medical establishments in the state to set up and manage ‘step-down hospitals’ for patients diagnosed with Covid-19 infection.
What are step-down hospitals?
Step-down hospitals are medical facilities established in hotels around hospitals in the state registered under the KPME (Karnataka Private Medical Establishments) Act. Beds in hotel rooms will now transform into a hospital-like setup, and patients will be managed by doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff from the respective hub hospital.
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Byatarayanapura MLA and former Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and his wife Meena recieved their first dose of the Covid vaccine in Bengaluru on Friday. The Congress MLA said that he decided to do so during a vaccination camp organised by BBMP along with the residents of Vidyaranyapura and urged all eligible people to get vaccinated.
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Adhering to the government guidelines imposing restrictions during weekends till May 4, 2021, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has announced no trains would be operated on Saturdays and Sundays.
However, during weekdays from Mondays to Fridays (from April 26 to May 4), trains will begin operations as usual at 7 am. However, last services from terminal stations such as Nagasandra, Silk Institute, Mysuru Road, and Baiyappanahalli stations will begin at 7.30 pm.
All trains operating during the last service daily, during weekdays, will have connection trains at the Kempegowda Metro Station at Majestic as well, BMRCL clarified.
A day after a video of two men dragging a dog behind their motorbike went viral, Mangaluru City Police Friday confirmed that they identified the suspects.
"We have identified the suspects and a case has been registered at Surathkal police station. The accused have been charged with relevant sections under the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act and the Indian Penal Code for the inhumane act," N Shashikumar, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner said.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Friday apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Covid-19 siutation in the state. In a video conference held by the PM with CMs of 10 states, Yediyurappa explained various measures taken by the government to handle the ongoing crisis.
He mentioned about the dedicated war room opened to streamline oxygen and Remdesivir supply, enforcement of night and weekend curfew and appointment of nodal officers to micromanage the situation across the state during his briefing.
However, Yediyurappa had mentioned on Thursday that the situation in the state had become "uncontrollable." He said, "I request people with folded hands not to step out of your homes unnecessarily. We have reached a stage where things have become uncontrollable," urging people to follow all Covid guidelines to mitigate spread of the infection.
The Karnataka government has capped prices that can be charged at step-down hospitals, which operate from hotel rooms for Covid-19 treatment, in collaboration with hospitals nearby.
While economy/budget hotels are allowed to charge a maximum of Rs 8000 from a patient per day, the ceiling fixed for rooms in three-star and five-star hotels are Rs 10,000 and Rs 12,000 respectively.
Karnataka’s Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU)’s decision to hold the remaining exams for first-semester engineering students even as the government announced new measures, such as a weekend curfew and extended night curfew timings till May 4, has not gone down well with many students.
However, concerned about losing out on the academic schedule, most students said they had to “forcefully give their consent” to the university’s decision. But, various departments asking them to vacate hostels have now become a new challenge for many.
One such student, Dayanand, who hails from Tumkur said, “Many students like me come from other districts and even states. They have been asked to vacate the hostels. Despite taking the risk to attend the exams amid the pandemic, no one has come forward to help us get through this difficult period.”
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Bengaluru, as of 9.15 am on Friday, has only nine ICU beds and six other ICU-ventilator beds unoccupied across all hospitals and medical colleges in the city.
Official state government data indicated that 369 ICU and 335 ICU-ventilator beds were occupied. In total, 6407 beds out of 7816 beds earmarked for Covid-19 patients in government and private hospitals and medical colleges situated in Bengaluru (Urban and Rural) were occupied.
As many as 738 beds have been added at these hospitals in total since Wednesday, as BBMP officials claim to add more to ensure accessibility to more patients. "The government is planning to get over 11,000 beds in total in the next few days," BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said.
JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy Friday urged the BJP-led Karnataka government to take measures on a war-footing to conduct the last rites of Covid-19 victims in Bengaluru.
'The last rites of least 25 victims should be conducted on a daily basis in each segment (of the total eight) of the deemed forest surrounding Bengaluru in all its eight directions,' he recommended.
The former CM added, 'It is really the height of inhuman behaviour on the part of the government which has failed to ensure proper arrangements for conducting the last rites of COVID patients, who died due to non-availability of proper medical care.'
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Bengaluru police Thursday filed an FIR against a private hospital in the city for allegedly denying admission to a Covid-19 patient.
According to the police, the FIR was filed against Fortis Hospital based on a complaint filed by Bommanahalli Health Officer Dr Nagendra.
“The complaint mentioned that Utpal Sinha (77) died on the premises of the hospital after the authorities refused to admit him. He was suffering from serious breathing problems despite being a Covid-19 patient,” an officer from Puttenahalli station confirmed.
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Karnataka registered another biggest single day spike of 25,795 new cases of COVID-19, and 123 related fatalities on Thursday, taking the total number of infections to 12,47,997 and the death toll to 13,885, the Health department said. The state had previously reported its biggest single day spike of 23,558 cases on Wednesday.
A total of over 2,41,79,169 samples have been tested so far, of which 1,62,534 were tested Thursday. Bengaluru Urban accounted for 15,244 new infections. The day also saw 5,624 patients getting discharged after recovery. As of April 22 evening, cumulatively 12,47,997 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 13,885 deaths and 10,37,857 discharges, the Health department said in its bulletin.
According to the bulletin, out of 1,96,236 active cases, 1,95,993 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 985 are in ICU. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 15.87 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 0.47 per cent.
Bengaluru Urban reported 68 deaths, Kalaburagi (11), Ballari, Dharwad and Tumakuru (5), Bengaluru Rural, Hassan and Mandya (4), followed by others.
Tumakuru accounted for 1,231 new cases, Ballari 940, Mysuru 818, Hassan 689, Kalaburagi 659, followed by others.
Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 5,98,919, followed by Mysuru 64,811 and Ballari 44,477. Among discharges too, Bengaluru Urban tops the list with 4,55,655, followed by Mysuru 58,687 and Ballari 39,974. (PTI)
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