Karnataka Deputy CM Ashwathnarayan reviews Covid treatment at a hospital in Bengaluru. Express PhotoKarnataka Bengaluru Coronavirus News April 29 Highlights: In the biggest single day spike, Karnataka recorded 39,047 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 14.39 lakh, while fatalities crossed the 15,000 mark with 229 deaths. Bengaluru Urban alone accounted for 22,596 infections, the health department said in a bulletin.
The state-wide toll stood at 15,036. The day also saw 11,833 patients getting discharged. Cumulatively 14,39,822 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, which include 15,036 deaths and 10,95,883 discharges, the bulletin said. Of the 3,28,884 active cases, 2,192 are in Intensive Care Units of various hospitals.
Behind Bengaluru in the number of cases was Mysuru 1,759, Kolar 1194, Tumakuru 1,174, Ballari 1,106 and Hassan 1,001, while Mandya, Kalaburagi, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballpura, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Dharward reported well in excess of 500 each. Among the 229 deaths reported on Wednesday, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 137, Mysuru 11, Mandya 9, Ballari 8, Bidar 6 and five each in Chikkamagaluru, Ramanagar, Shivamogga, Tumakuru and Yadgir, while the rest were in other cities
A total of 2.52 crore samples have been tested so far, including 1,71,997 on Wednesday alone. Over 92.40 lakh people have so far been inoculated, the bulletin said. (PTI)
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Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi urged Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to convert all armed forces hospitals in the state into Covid Care Centres (CCCs). He also requested the Defence Minister's orders to DRDO and other military agencies to urgently begin operating makeshift hospitals in the state.
"I request you to convert all Armed Forces Hospitals in Karnataka including command Hospital in Bengaluru, Military Hospital in Belagavi, INHS Hospital in Karwar (Field Hospitals) into CCCs so that the shortage of immediate medical care to the extent possible can be tackled," Joshi wrote.
The MP representing Dharwad constituency then added, "I also urge your good self to kindly take early steps for starting new makeshift Hospitals from defence forces in Karnataka to meet the needs of the emergent situation."
The Karnataka government Thursday announced that it will take up the vaccination drive for people aged 18-44 in a phased manner.
"The state government is procuring 1 crore doses of vaccine while another work order has been placed to procure one more crore additional doses of vaccine. The fourth phase of the vaccination drive will be taken up in stages," CM B S Yediyurappa announced.
He added that the Centre had supplied 99.4 lakh doses of Covid vaccine to the state to date. "While 93.5 lakh doses have been administered, around 5.9 lakh doses are available now," Yediyurappa said.
Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy Thursday urged the state government to begin "compulsory door-to-door vaccination" for all aged 18 and above to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
"As the state is under curfew, I suggest the government take full advantage of the situation and start door to door compulsory vaccination of all 18 plus population so as to instill confidence in the population as well as to arrest the spread of covid," he said.
Further, in a series of tweets, the former Karnataka Chief Minister noted that many aged above 45 in the state were yet to get the first dose to an alleged lack of vaccine supply. "..And most from the 45-60 age group haven't received the second dose. Does Government of Karnataka and Government of India have enough supplies to walk the talk?" he questioned.
The Karnataka government Thursday decided to follow a "syndromic approach" to issue patient numbers for hospitalisation and treatment based on the authorization of doctors, Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar confirmed.
He said the decision was taken after the government noted a hike in instances of false-negative test reports in both RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen testing methods.
"After the recent surge of cases in the second wave, several instances have been reported where the laboratory test for Covid-19 is found negative even while the patient has Covid-19 symptoms or CT scan has detected infection," Sudhakar said.
He added that the change in approach was made in the wake of several such patients failing to get a patient number issued by the district administration, which has led to them facing issues to get admitted to hospitals for Covid treatment.
As Karnataka continued to report a steady rise in the number of Covid-19 infections and related deaths, 35,024 more people tested positive on Thursday. Of these, 19,637 infections were reported from Bengaluru Urban alone.
Meanwhile, the total death toll in the capital city rose to 6282 as 143 more people succumbed to the infection in the district. As many as 270 more deaths in the last few days from across the state were linked to Covid-19 by the Department of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
Upping the ante against the Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti for asking a man seeking more rice under the PDS to die, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah demanded his ouster from the cabinet.
“This is not an utterance of a responsible minister. I condemn it strongly and request Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to remove Umesh Katti from the cabinet,” Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
He was reacting to Katti’s reported remark to a farmer from Gadag to die for seeking more rice under the public distribution system to the economically weaker section.
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The Karnataka government Thursday extended the time permitted for milk sale and operation of Nandini booths in the state, bringing in revisions to the restrictions announced across the state as part of the ongoing 14-day lockdown.
As per the order, milk booths will now be allowed to function from 6 am to 8 pm. Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) had reported that the cut in sales time from 6 am to 10 am had resulted in their sales being affected by 27 per cent.
There are nearly 1700 milk parlours operated by KMF across the state, including 1000 in Bengaluru.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa held Covid review meeting with all district administration in the state today.
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah received his second dose of the Covid vaccine on Thursday. The 72-year-old Congress leader was inoculated at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru. Earlier last month, on March 15, he was administered the first dose of the vaccine at the same hospital.
In the wake of the continuous spike in new Covid-19 cases and related fatalities in Karnataka, Bangalore North Lok Sabha MP P C Mohan has made an appeal to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to direct the armed forces to set up a 1000-bedded hospital in the state.
In the letter, he elaborated on the current Covid scenario of the state and capital city Bengaluru citing that over 20,000 new infections were reported from the latter alone in the last few days.
'Bengaluru has many defence establishments, including the Command Hospital run by the IAF and other medical formations. I request your kind self that armed forces units may hereby instructed to set up Covid Care Centres, medical care centres and to reserve a portion of total beds to the general public,' Mohan wrote.
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In the biggest single-day spike so far, Karnataka reported 39,047 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total tally to 14.39 lakh, while the state reported 229 deaths, crossing the 15,000-mark.
Bengaluru Urban reported 22,596 infections. The statewide toll stood at 15,036, according to the health department bulletin. The day also saw 11,833 patients getting discharged.
Cumulatively, 14,39,822 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, which include 15,036 deaths and 10,95,883 discharges, the bulletin said. Of the 3,28,884 active cases, 2,192 are in Intensive Care Units of various hospitals.
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Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Thursday met with members of his state cabinet and top government officials to review the progress of the government's actions taken to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
In the meeting held at the premises of his home office Krishna in Bengaluru, Deputy CMs Govinda Karjol CN Ashwathnarayan, Home and Law Minister Basavaraj Bommayi, Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar, Revenue Minister R Ashok, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj, Chief Secretary P Ravikumar, and ACS (Health) Jawaid Akhtar and others took part.
The state has reported over 4.42 lakh new infections and 2469 deaths in April alone.
Even as most people in Bengaluru chose to stay indoors adhering to the 'Corona Curfew' announced across the state to mitigate the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the Bengaluru City Police (BCP) Wednesday seized 434 vehicles from different parts of the city for allegedly violating the guidelines.
According to data shared by BCP, 395 two-wheelers, 22 three-wheelers, and 17 four-wheelers were seized during inspections held across the city between 10 am and 8 pm. Meanwhile, 19 cases were filed under relevant sections of the Disaster Management (DMA) Act, as per an official release.
The police had seized 2151 vehicles and had filed 39 DMA cases over the last weekend.
Amid rising Covid-19 cases in Karnataka, about 3,000 infected people have gone missing in Bengaluru while many have switched off their phones. The government has now tasked the police with tracing them.
Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka claimed that the missing people are spreading the disease, and that the police have been asked to trace them. Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said the issue of the infected going missing has been reported for the past one year.
“We are giving free medicines to the people, which can control 90 per cent of cases, but they (Covid-infected people) have switched off their mobile phones. They reach hospitals in a critical stage, desperately looking for ICU beds. This is what is happening now,” Ashoka told reporters on Wednesday.
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Sanitation workers, including those deployed to collect medical waste, under Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have alleged that they have not been provided sufficient masks or gloves despite raising a demand with the authorities. “With almost 2 lakh active cases, our members who handle medical waste of those in home isolation are in a terrible situation. They have not been given any mask/gloves since last year despite asking for them repeatedly,” the BBMP Pourakarmika Sangha alleged.
According to Nirmala M, the President of the Sangha, the sanitation workers are being exposed to a more “severe and deadlier” strain of the virus ever since the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit Bengaluru.
“It has to be noted that the plight of the workers have to be kept at utmost importance at this stage of the pandemic, bearing in mind that the pourakarmikas are at such high vulnerability to Covid-19 infection. Despite this, we have chosen to stand by the BBMP to ensure cleanliness throughout the city,” Nirmala added.
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The Karnataka government Wednesday reopened the ‘Agri war room’ in Bengaluru to help farmers during the period of 'close down'. A similar helpline had been set up by the State Agriculture Department during last year’s lockdown.
Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil said that the war room would help farmers by providing guidance on the price in different markets for their produce which includes vegetables, fruits, flowers and other crops. "Farmers can also get information on availability of farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, farm implements, and subsidy schemes," he added.
‘Agri war room’ helpline numbers are 080-22212818 and 080- 22210237 working from 8 am to 8 pm. According to the agriculture department, two technical officers and a deputy director (agriculture) will monitor the helpline.
Both presiding officers of the Legislature, Assembly Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri and Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, have tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a media statement, Horatti does not have any symptoms and is in home isolation.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in a tweet wished quick recoveries to Kageri, who too is in home isolation.
The Karnataka government has allowed garment units in the state to operate with 50% of its workforce during the ongoing 14-day lockdown announced in the state till May 12. The order, which was issued by the Revenue Secretary N Manjunatha Prasad, however, stressed that the allowed workforce should strictly adhere to Covid-19-appropriate behvaiour.
'The movement of staff shall be allowed by producing vail ID/authorisation issued by concerned industries/industrial establishment,' Prasad clarified.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Garments and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) had written to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa questioning him why the garment industry was not exempted from the lockdown orders while agriculture, and construction activities were permitted. GATWU had also demanded the government to either allow 50 per cent operations or to provide them with compensation.
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Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti on Wednesday drew flak from Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and opposition parties for reportedly asking a farmer to die when he requested enhanced supply of rice though the Public Distribution System.
Katti later withdrew his statement, tendered an apology and said he never wanted anyone to die and that everyone should prosper.
Ishwar, the farmer activist from Gadag in North Karnataka, rang up Katti on Wednesday and asked him how he expected people to survive on just two kg of rice a month when the lockdown has rendered thousands jobless.
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A former Karnataka High Court judge’s alleged attempt to pay a “bribe to the petitioner for securing the post of Governor” has lowered the prestige of judges and the image of the Governor’s post, the Karnataka High Court has said.
The observation was made by the single-judge bench of Justice K Natarajan while denying bail to Yuvaraj Swami, 52, an astrologer accused in multiple cases of allegedly cheating politicians, businessmen and a former High Court judge, Justice B S Indrakala.
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