Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Monday said the State had decided to ban all protests for 15 days, while ruling out a lockdown for now. Asking people to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, he said officials would take strict action on violations from Tuesday.
The Chief Minister reviewed the situation in Bengaluru and other important districts. “COVID cases are rising in Bengaluru at an alarming rate, which is cause for concern. Daily average cases are around 1,377 and positive cases are 16,921 in the last 14 days,” Mr. Yediyurappa said. The protocol for testing, tracing and treatment was being strengthened. Karnataka on Monday reported 2,792 new cases and 16 fatalities.
For the fourth day, Andhra Pradesh reported close to 1,000 cases. It also reported five deaths, the highest single-day toll in four months. On Monday, 997 infections were reported.
One death each occurred in Anantapur, Chittoor, Kurnool, Nellore and Visakhapatnam districts.
Chittoor reported the highest single-day tally of 181 infections. Patients in ICUs across hospitals in Telangana shot up by 100% in about two weeks. Many requests for plasma from recovered persons were received.
From March 1 to 14 this year, around 340 to 375 patients were admitted in ICUs of government and private hospitals everyday. On March 28, however, 767 patients were admitted to ICUs.
Telangana recorded 403 cases on Sunday with 33,930 samples tested. Over the past two weeks, about 60,000 samples were tested daily, but the number dropped over weekends. The 403 new cases included 146 from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation region, 40 from Medchal Malkajgiri, 34 from Rangareddy, and 24 from Sangareddy. Two patients died.
Kerala reported 1,549 new cases on Monday, from 37,377 samples. The test positivity rate was 4.14%. The toll rose with 11 more deaths. Kozhikode reported four deaths, Thiruvananthapuram two, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Ernakulam, Malappuram and Kannur one death each.
Kannur district reported the maximum of 249 cases and Ernakulam 184. Two people from South Africa who reached Kerala tested positive.
Among Karnataka’s 16 deaths, Bengaluru Urban saw 9, Gadag 3, Mysuru 2 and Bidar and Mandya with one each.
(With inputs from Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada bureaus & PTI)
