On a day when the Karnataka Department of Health and Family Welfare linked 143 more deaths in the last few days to the pandemic, top leaders from the ruling BJP hinted that the weekend curfew might be extended. They, however, indicated that a complete lockdown is unlikely to be imposed at the moment.
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda said, “Weekend curfews will continue if necessary. CM Yediyurappa will discuss the matter with his cabinet colleagues on Monday to take a decision.”
#Karnataka: 34,804 new #Covid19 cases (20733 in #Bengaluru) today as test positivity rate shoots up to 19.7%. 143 more deaths linked to the pandemic, of which 77 are in BLR Urban, 16 in #Ballari, 9 in #Mysuru, and 6 each are in #Tumakuru, and #Dharwad. @IndianExpress
— Ralph Alex Arakal (@ralpharakal) April 25, 2021
Also the Lok Sabha MP representing Bangalore North, Gowda met Health Minister K Sudhakar, Chief Secretary P Ravikumar, MLC Y A Narayanaswamy, and Additional Chief Secretary (Health and Welfare) Jawaid Akhtar in Vidhana Soudha on Sunday. “We are pained to see the high number of deaths in the last few days. While chances are that the intensity of the pandemic will reduce, the next 10 days are crucial for us,” he said.
The Union Minister also discussed the central government’s allocation of resources such as medical oxygen, remdesivir and vaccines to the state. While the Centre announced an allocation of 800 metric tonnes of medical oxygen and 1.22 lakh vials of remdesivir to the state on Saturday, Gowda claimed, “We (Centre) have also met Karnataka’s demand for three lakh vaccines by April 30.”
Meanwhile, Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar clarified that the state government had no plans to impose lockdown throughout the week yet. “We have no proposals to impose curfew during the daytime on weekdays yet. However, we are considering night curfew and weekend curfew for one more week, as announced. There has been no final decision of announcing any lockdown,” he said in Dharwad.
Shettar further blamed the attitude of the people for the second wave in the state. “The casual attitude and negligent behaviour of the people has led to this rise in new Covid-19 cases,” he said.
Bengaluru: 7 crematoriums to allow bodies of only Covid-19 victims
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Sunday announced that seven crematoriums in the city have been identified as dedicated spaces to cremate only victims of the pandemic, referred from BBMP Covid hearse van helpline.
According to an order issued by the SWM Special Commissioner, BBMP marshals have been directed to ensure that guidelines are followed and only RFID (Radio-frequency identification)-enabled vans are allowed to the crematoriums. The list with the order mentions crematoriums at Medi Agrahara, Kudlu, Panathur, Kengeri, Summanahalli, Peenya, and Banashankari as dedicated crematoriums for Covid-19 cases.
“However, non-Covid and walk-in Covid bodies shall be sent to the remaining five crematoriums until further orders and TR Mills & Tavarekere for open cremation,” the order mentioned.
In a bid to avoid large gatherings at crematoriums, the Special Commissioner has also requested jurisdictional Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) to deploy police personnel.
#Karnataka reduces number of people allowed to attend cremations/funerals from 20 to 5. These are as part of the guidelines in place till 6 am on May 4,2021, govt clarifies. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/hIomvP0Rya
— Ralph Alex Arakal (@ralpharakal) April 25, 2021
Earlier on Sunday, the Karnataka government had reduced the number of attendees allowed for each cremation/funeral from 20 to 5 till May 4.
Practical exams for II PUC students postponed
The Karnataka government Sunday decided to postpone practical examinations for students of second-year PUC (pre-university college), scheduled to be held across the state from April 28. However, theory examinations will be held as planned from June 21 to July 5.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said that the decision to postpone practical exams was taken based on several requests made by stakeholders concerned with the process. “The department of pre-university education (DPUE) has decided to act on requests from parents, teachers, and students to postpone practical exams in the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 situation in the state,” he explained.
Kodagu reports over 1000 cases for first time
From 55 new infections reported last Saturday (April 17) to 1077 cases on Sunday (April 25), the Covid-19 tally in Kodagu district has seen a spike of over 20 times. The rural district situated with a hilly landscape had reported 548 cases on Saturday which was the highest single-day tally till then.
As of Friday, since March 2020, the district had reported a cumulative 7216 cases. However, the number has risen to 8841 with 1625 new cases over this weekend. While 2,089 of these cases are active, the district has witnessed seven fatalities linked to the pandemic since April 1. The cumulative death toll in the district is 80.
Bengaluru police seize over 2000 vehicles, 39 DMA cases during weekend curfew
Even as most people in Bengaluru chose to stay indoors adhering to the weekend curfew announced across the state to mitigate the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the Bengaluru City Police (BCP) seized 2,151 vehicles from different parts of the city, between 10 am and 8 pm, for allegedly violating the guidelines.
According to data shared by BCP, 1983 two-wheelers, 68 three-wheelers, and 100 four-wheelers were seized during inspections held across the city during the weekend. Meanwhile, 39 cases were filed under relevant sections of the Disaster Management Act (DMA), as per an official release. These included 16 from West, 13 from Southeast, seven from Central, two from Whitefield, and one from South sections respectively.
143 more deaths, 26,962 new infections as positivity rate up at 19.7%
The Department of Health and Family Welfare Services on Sunday the state has recorded 143 more fatalities across the state (77 in Bengaluru Urban alone) due to Covid-19, with which the cumulative death toll rose to 14,426.
Meanwhile, the state reported 34,804 new infections as the active caseload spiked to 2,62,162. With 20,733 new cases, the number of active cases in Bengaluru Urban alone is at 1.8 lakh.
At the same time, 12 more districts out of the total 30 reported over 500 new cases. These are Tumakuru (1153), Kodagu (1077), Bengaluru Rural (864), Ballari (732), Dakshina Kannada (564), Dharwad (546), Hassan (768), Kalaburagi (626), Kolar (782), Mandya (814), Mysuru (700), and Raichur (643).
As many as 6,982 others recovered from the infection and a total of 60,693 people were inoculated across the state (till 3.30 pm).