Acknowledging that the ongoing coronavirus second wave situation in Karnataka is getting more serious day by day, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Friday requested Prime Minister Narendra 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 are 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 Remdevisir within 10 days. He stated that Karnataka 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. CM Yediyurappa apprises PM Modi of the #CovidSecondWave situation in Karnataka via video-conference. Health Minister @mla_sudhakar, Home & Law Minister @BSBommai, top bureaucrats accompany CM. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/MuSo1p2dLW — Ralph Alex Arakal (@ralpharakal) April 23, 2021 The PM was also apprised of 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. The Karnataka CM then explained that the state's health infrastructure has been ramped up in the last six months and that the government has decided to begin ICU-equipped field hospitals soon. Speaking of the state's plan to inoculate more people in the coming days, Yediyurappa requested the Centre to distribute vaccines to all states which should be treated equally. "82 lakh people have been vaccinated in the state so far," he said. Briefing the PM on other restrictions like the night and weekend curfews to mitigate further spread of Covid-19, Yediyurappa said such measures were taken by ensuring no economic activity was affected adversely. It may be recalled that the CM on Thursday had mentioned that the Covid-19 situation in the state has become "uncontrollable." Soon after being discharged from a private hospital in Bengaluru after recovering from coronavirus reinfection, 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." Till date, Karnataka has reported 12,47,997 cases and 13,885 fatalities linked to the pandemic, since March last year. Of these, 250,993 infections and 1,318 deaths have been reported from April 1 this year alone.
