PremiumKarnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Sunday warned private hospitals of legal action if they do not comply with the government order to reserve 50 per cent of the beds for COVID-19 patients in the State.
Issuing this warning, he told reporters here that after visiting a few hospitals, he learned that Manipal Hospitals, which is one of the prominent hospitals, has not reserved the 50 per cent of beds.
Premium "Legal action will be initiated if they (hospitals) fail to obey the order. Let us not land in such a situation," the Minister said in a statement. Sudhakar, however, admitted to the private hospitals facing shortage of infrastructure and human resources.
"There may be shortcomings, but we are trying to address all issues. We are prioritising supply of oxygen, Remdesivir and other drugs, increase in beds and temporary arrangements in hotels," he said. Sudhakar ruled out shortage of oxygen in the State. "The Centre has given an approval for 300 tonnes of oxygen in addition to the 800-tonne production capacity of the State," he said. "Industries have extended an assurance to supply sufficient quantities of oxygen whenever required," he added.
Karnataka saw 19,067 new coronavirus cases and 81 related deaths on Sunday, taking the gross to 11.61 lakh and toll to 13,351, the health department said.
Bengaluru alone contributed 12,793 fresh infections and 60 deaths in the last 24 hours, the biggest ever on a single day.
Due to the spiralling infections for the past one month, the state has now 1,33,543 active cases including 620 in the ICU.
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