Asymptomatic positive patients will no longer be admitted to designated hospitals for treatment in Karnataka. The State government will set up COVID Care Centres to monitor and treat asymptomatic infected persons, said Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar on Tuesday.
Addressing presspersons after a meeting with experts and senior officials on best practices and effective steps being taken by other States, the Minister said this decision has been taken as the number of cases are on the rise in the last two weeks. “This will reduce the burden on hospitals and ensure that beds are available for those who need it,” he said.
“An expert committee has been formed to advise on the type of treatment and care required for these cases in different stages. The BBMP Commissioner has been directed to ensure that 20,000 beds are available in COVID Care Centres in Bengaluru,” the Minister said.
Stating that private hospitals should act with utmost responsibility and pro-actively participate in the fight against COVID-19, the Minister warned of strict action against hospitals that refuse to treat these patients.
“We are developing a mobile application that will guide on the availability of beds, ventilators, and ICU facilities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the State saw seven more persons succumbing to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. With this, the toll touched 94, apart from four death of patients because of non-COVID causes.
The seven deaths include five from Bengaluru Urban and one each from Ramanagaram and Bidar.
The day also saw 317 new cases and with this the total number of positive cases touched 7,530. On Tuesday, Dakshina Kannada reported 79 new cases, the highest. Kalaburagi and Ballari reported 63 and 53 cases, respectively, followed by Bengaluru Urban that saw 47 cases.