With 31,830 patients testing positive in a day, total Covid cases crossed 14-lakh mark in Karnataka and active cases 3-lakh mark amid the pandemic's second wave, said the state health bulletin on Tuesday.
"A record 31,830 new Covid cases were registered on Monday, taking the state's Covid tally to 14,00,775, including 3,01,899 active cases, while recoveries rose to 10,84,050 till date, with 10,793 discharged during the day," said the bulletin.
As epicentre of the pandemic in the state, Bengaluru registered 17,550 fresh cases on Monday, taking its Covid tally to 6,87,751, including 2,06,223 active cases, while 4,75,525 recovered so far, with 3,899 discharged during the last 24 hours.
Of 180 lives lost to the infection on Tuesday, 97 were in Bengaluru, taking the state's death toll to 14,807 and the city's toll to 6,002 since the pandemic broke out in March a year ago.
Among districts where most new cases were reported are 2,042 in Mysuru, 1,196 in Tumakur, 907 in Ballari, 772 in Kalaburagi, 737 in Mandya, 736 in Raichur, 579 in Bengaluru Rural, 548 in Kolar, 544 in Chikkaballapur, 531 in Vijayapura and 503 in Hassan across the state.
Of 2,063 patients in the intensive care units (ICUs), 824 in Bengaluru hospitals, 265 in Kalaburagi, 134 in Tumakur and 122 in Dharwad, with the rest spread in the remaining 26 districts across the state.
Out of 1,70,166 tests conducted during the day across the state, 18,485 were through rapid antigen detection and 1,51,631 through RT-PCR method.
Positivity rate shot up to 18.17 per cent while case fatality rate stood at 0.56 per cent across the state on Monday.
Meanwhile, 1,33,662 people, including 61,187 senior citizens above 60 years of age and 61,495 in the 45-59 years age group were vaccinated during the day across the state.
"Cumulatively, 90,43,861 people received the jab since the vaccination drive was launched on January 16 across the state," added the bulletin.
14-day lockdown kicks in Covid-hit Karnataka
The 14-day lockdown to contain the Coronavirus spread amid the pandemic's second wave began across Karnataka on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. and will be in force till 6 a.m. on May 12.
"As decided by the state cabinet on Monday, the 14-day lockdown has come into effect from Tuesday night and will continue till May 12 morning to break the chain of Covid transmission across the state and reduce the number of Covid cases," an official told IANS here.
As per the stringent guidelines issued in an order by state chief secretary P. Ravi Kumar on Monday, the lockdown will force people to stay home, as public transport, including buses, taxis, autos and private vehicles will not be allowed to operate over the next two weeks except for 4 hours during the day.
"As notified, people will be able to buy their daily needs for 4 hours from 6-10 a.m., as markets and shops selling essential needs like milk, groceries, eggs, fish, meat, vegetables and fruits are allowed to function," said the official.
As night curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. has been in force across the state since April 20 to May 4, it will continue till May 12 morning with essential services and select economic activities exempted from the lockdown.
"Police have been directed to prevent movement of all types of vehicles except for emergency purposes when a patient needs to be rushed to hospital for treatment," noted the official.
Racing against time before the lockdown began, thousands of people, including migrants rushed during the day to railway stations and inter-state and intra-state bus terminals in cities across the state to reach their native places within the state or in the neighbouring states.
Fearing that the 14-day lockdown may be extended if Covid cases don't decline by May 12, hundreds of families, especially bachelors and students left this tech city with luggage to their homes in towns and villages across the state.
"Schools, colleges, cinema theatres, malls, gyms, hotels, restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs and non-essential shops will remain shut during the lockdown," said the official.
Students appearing for scheduled exams are, however, allowed to travel in their own or private vehicles with their hall ticket as pass to commute.
Banks, ATMs, insurance offices, e-commerce firms, facilities in supply chain of essential goods, cold storage and warehousing are allowed to operate during the fortnight shutdown.
Hotels, restaurants and eateries are permitted to operate only kitchens for take-aways or home delivery of food items. Service will not be allowed in their premises.
According to the state health bulletin, a record 31,830 new Covid cases were reported in a day, taking the state's Covid tally to 14,00,775, including 3,01,899 active cases.
As epicentre of the pandemic in the state, Bengaluru registered 17,550 fresh cases on Monday, taking its Covid tally to 6,87,751, including 2,06,223 active cases.
Of 180 lives lost to the infection on Tuesday, 97 were from Bengaluru, taking the state's death toll to 14,807 and the city's toll to 6,002 since the pandemic broke out in March a year ago.
Call centre to guide Covid-hit isolated at home in K'taka
A 24x7 call centre has been set up in this tech city to guide Covid patients isolated at home with mild symptoms across the state, Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar said on Tuesday.
"The round-the-clock call centre with 1,100 staff will guide and monitor the health of asymptomatic Covid patients isolated at home to recover from the virus. They will counsel them on how to fight the virus," Sudhakar told reporters after chairing a task force committee meeting here.
The call centre, set up with the help of global software major Infosys at a cost of Rs 11 crore, has begun functioning with 400 employees and will be ramped up with an additional 700 staff in the coming weeks.
"We are also setting up a telemedicine system at a cost of Rs 20 crore for providing healthcare services, including counselling to people across the state on Covid-related and other diseases," said Sudhakar, a medical doctor by profession.
"Not all Covid patients need to be hospitalised, especially those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms of the virus as they can be treated at home or at the Covid care centres. Only 10 per cent of active cases are in hospitals across the state," asserted Sudhakar.
Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan has offered to depute about 1,000 techies to operate the call centre.
The state government had formed a task force along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Saturday to jointly fight the second wave of Covid-19 in the southern state.
With health department officials and the CII's state unit representatives as its members, the task force will help the state on using technology to source medicines, medical equipment and software applications, among other things.
According to the state health bulletin, a record 31,830 new Covid cases were reported on Monday, taking the state's Covid tally to 14,00,775, including 3,01,899 active cases.
As epi-centre of the pandemic in the state, Bengaluru registered 17,550 fresh cases on Monday, taking its Covid tally to 6,87,751, including 2,06,223 active cases.
Of the 180 lives lost to the infection on Monday, 97 were from Bengaluru, taking the state's death toll to 14,807 and the city's toll to 6,002 since the pandemic broke out in March a year ago.
Out of the 2,063 patients admitted to the ICUs across the state, 824 are in Bengaluru hospitals, followed by 265 in Kalaburagi, 134 in Tumakur and 122 in Dharwad.
"Positivity rate shot up to 18.17 per cent while case fatality rate stood at 0.56 per cent across the state on Monday," said the bulletin.
The state health department is setting up Covid care centres with 50-100 beds in each of the 31 districts across the state to admit asymptomatic patients.
"Portable oxygen will be provided to every 20 beds in each centre. We are procuring 40,000 portable medical oxygen units for deploying them in the state-run hospitals and Covid care centres across the state," said the minister.
As over 60 per cent of caseloads are from Bengaluru, two Covid care centres are being set up in each of its 28 Assembly constituencies for admitting patients who are asymptomatic or suffering from mild symptoms of the virus.
Refuting that the state government is hiding Covid data, Sudhakar said the fight against the pandemic should not be politicised, as the state machineries, including its healthcare workers and frontline warriors, are engaged in treating the patients and controlling the situation.
