Karnataka to step up Covid-19 vaccination to avoid second wave, says Health Minister

Karnataka reported over a thousand new cases for the third consecutive day on Thursday and of the 1,488 fresh cases, 925 of them were from Bengaluru alone.

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar conducts a Covid-19 emergency meeting in Bengaluru on Thursday. (Express Photo)

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar Thursday spoke about various plans being taken up by the state government to mitigate “a possible second wave of Covid-19” in the state. In a bid to enhance micromanagement of cases, he said war rooms will begin operations like how they did during peak pandemic last year.

“War rooms will start operating to help the government monitor the situation using real-time data. We have also decided to recruit resident doctors and paramedical staff on a temporary basis,” he said. He added that 200 ambulances have been deployed in Bengaluru in case of an emergency situation.

#Karnataka Health Minister @mla_sudhakar convenes emergency meeting with senior officials, heads of key govt Hospitals to discuss #Covid19 containment measures. @IndianExpress

Live updates: https://t.co/kvsm7imfkK pic.twitter.com/KCRKfyjRxf

— Express Bengaluru (@IEBengaluru) March 18, 2021

Further, after an emergency meeting held with senior officials and heads of key government hospitals, Sudhakar said doctors, healthcare workers and officials “are set to work in mission mode for the next 50 days”.

Officials instructed not to waste vaccine: Health Minister

A couple of days after the Centre named Karnataka among five states where Covid vaccine wastage was higher than the national average, Health Minister Sudhakar instructed officials to keep tabs on this.

Story continues below this ad

“I will personally monitor it on a daily basis,” he said, adding that vaccine coverage will be enhanced across the state. “Few days back, nearly 2.5 lakh inoculations were done in a single day. So, it is possible to ramp up coverage and target has been set to vaccinate 3 lakh people per day. If we vaccinate senior citizens and people above 45 years with co-morbidities, we can mitigate the second wave,” he informed.

‘Private hospitals to be roped in if infection spreads’

The Health and Medical Education Minister further informed that the government is planning to discuss with private hospitals regarding reservation of beds for patients infected by the novel coronavirus.

“If the infection spreads, we will rope in private hospitals to ensure sufficient availability of beds. The heads of respective institutions will be held accountable for any lapse,” he added.

1,488 new cases in Karnataka, 925 in Bengaluru alone

Karnataka reported over a thousand new cases for the third consecutive day on Thursday. Of the 1,488 new cases, 925 of them were from Bengaluru Urban district alone.

#Karnataka Mar 18 #Covid19 update: 925 new cases in #Bengaluru, 1488 across state.

Tests done: 93,370
People vaccinated: 76,018
Discharges: 341 (140 in BLR)
Active cases: 11,359 (8122 in BLR)
Deaths: 8 (7 in BLR) pic.twitter.com/yuKibn9M72

— Ralph Alex Arakal (@ralpharakal) March 18, 2021

Meanwhile, active cases in the state climbed up to 11,359 with the capital city recording nearly 72 per cent of those. Other districts that reported most cases were Dakshina Kannada (64), Kalaburagi (59), Bidar (53), and Mysuru (49).

Story continues below this ad

While 93,370 samples were tested (including 5,973 Rapid Antigen Tests) across the state, as many as 76,018 people were inoculated in the last 24 hours, a bulletin issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services informed.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram