The Karnataka government has started testing journalists and police personnel starting from Thursday. (Representational/Express photo)
In Karnataka, 18 people tested COVID-19 positive on Thursday including ten from Bengaluru, taking the state’s total tally to 445 cases. Of which, nine cases are from Bommanahalli zone in Bengaluru and all of them are contacts of a 54-year-old COVID-19 patient with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI).
Besides ten people from Bengaluru, two each are from Dharwada, Vijayapura, and Mandya and one each from Dakshina Kannada and Kalaburagi district.
According to district authorities, the patient 419 is a daily wage worker from Hongasandra. He had difficulty in breathing and he was admitted to Venu Healthcare Centre in Hongasandra on April 19. Next day, he was referred to Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences. He is a native of Bihar and was working at a local scrap segregation unit. He was living in Hongasandra along with four other persons.
As of 5:00 PM of 23rd April 2020, Cumulatively 445 COVID-19 Positive cases have been
confirmed in Karnataka, it includes 17 Deaths & 145 Discharges.18 new cases have been confirmed for COVID-19 in the state from 22.04.2020, 5:00 PM to
23.04.2020, 5:00 PM. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/ggRNYu0apj— Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) April 23, 2020
“Upon reaching Jayadeva hospital he was quarantined and the doctors took his samples and he was tested positive for COVID-19. We have tested his primary contacts and nine persons tested positive and admitted to designated hospitals in the city,” said Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner GN Shivamurthy.
Hospital licence cancelled for not informing health dept about suspected case
Meanwhile, the district authorities cancelled the licence of the Venu Healthcare Centre for not informing the health department about suspected COVID-19 case. According to the District Commissioner, the Venu Healthcare Centre has been sealed and the one doctor and four nurses from the hospital are quarantined.
The health department also cancelled the licence of the hospital, for allegedly not informing the government of a suspected COVID-19 case and resisting quarantine. “Despite strict instructions, the hospital did not flag the case to the government on time. They treated the patient for a day and later referred him to Jayadeva Hospital. Hence I have cancelled the licence of the hospital and I have directed my officials to seize the hospital,” Shivamurthy said.
“When our health workers went to the hospital to quarantine the staff and doctor, the hospital staff along with the doctor locked the hospital from outside, and hid inside to resist quarantine,” Shivamurthy added.
60% of COVID-19 positive patients in Karnataka asymptomatic
According to the Karnataka government, 60% of COVID-19 positive patients in Karnataka are asymptomatic. Speaking to reporters, Suresh Kumar, Karnataka State Education Minister and spokesperson for COVID-19 related issues, said, “the 60 percent of novel coronavirus cases reported in the state are asymptomatic. Since most cases are asymptomatic, as a precaution, we are testing all the primary and secondary contacts of reported cases as soon as possible.”
The Karnataka government has also increased testing capacities across the state. According to the health department, the state is now testing more than 2,000 samples every day. Meanwhile, the state government has also started testing journalists and police personnel.
After criticism by Opposition, BBMP allots funds for COVID-19 relief works
Following criticism from the Opposition, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike(BBMP) allotted Rs 20 lakh from the ward development funds for COVID-19 relief works.
The BJP led BBMP presented a Budget for the year 2020-21 with an outlay of Rs 11,449 crore, on Monday. The opposition Congress and JD(S) party members criticised the ruling party for ignoring any kind of allocation towards the fight against COVID-19 in the budget.
The budget was passed on Wednesday, with the civic body announcing to allot Rs 25 lakh from the ward funds to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Earlier the civic body had given only 1% of the budget to the health programmes. Rs 82.04 crores had been earmarked to the health and education programmes of the city.
Congress criticises Karnataka govt’s decision to ease lockdown
After the Karnataka government announced partial relaxations in lockdown measures from the midnight of April 23, the Karnataka Congress criticised the state government for announcing partial relief of lockdown after Bengaluru reportedly witnessed heavy vehicular movements.
Announcement of partial relief to ease Lockdown by @BSYBJP has created chaos in #Bengaluru today.
Massive traffic jams are reported across city with confusions & no proper guidelines.
This shows lack of co-ordination in Governance with improper planning.
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) April 23, 2020
The Congress on Thursday in a tweet said that the massive traffic jams are reported across the city with confusions and no proper guidelines, this shows lack of co-ordination in Governance with improper planning. “Announcement of partial relief to ease Lockdown by @BSYBJP has created chaos in #Bengaluru today. Massive traffic jams are reported across city with confusions & no proper guidelines. This shows lack of co-ordination in Governance with improper planning.”
On Wednesday, the Karnataka government announced partial relaxations in lockdown measures. As per an official order issued by Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar, select activities will be allowed only outside COVID-19 containment zones identified by the government. “To mitigate hardship to the public, select additional activities will be allowed, which will come into effect from 0000 hours on April 23, 2020,” the order read.
As per the order, construction activities related to roads, irrigation projects, buildings and all kinds of industrial projects including MSMEs only in rural areas (outside municipalities and municipal corporations limits) where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside will be allowed.
Similarly, constructions will be allowed for metro rail projects within limits of municipal corporations. Meanwhile, IT and IT-enabled services will be allowed to work with “minimum essential staff” as per the order. “Rest to work from home,” an addendum issued by the Chief Secretary read.