Karnataka Covid lockdown news live: Congress MPs, legislators to use LAD fund for procuring vaccines, says Siddaramaiah

People above the age of 45 and those lining up for their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will be given priority at inoculation centers across Bengaluru due to the limited number of shots available. According to Gaurav Gupta, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner, about 200 doses are allocated every day to about 198 inoculation wards across the city, amounting to about 40,000 doses per day. "Based on the availability of vaccines, we allocate about 40,000 doses per day to 198 wards - 200 doses per ward. Priority is being given to people aged 45 years and above for the second jab since a limited quantity of vaccines are available," Gupta said. He added that the city's administrative body was constantly in touch with the government in order to ensure the availability of vaccines. Over the last week, Covid-19 cases in Karnataka have been rising sharply, with 35,297 new cases and 344 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. There are currently 5,93,078 active cases in the state. (ANI)

The Congress' Karnataka unit on Friday announced that the MPs, MLAs and MLCs will use their Local Area Development fund to the tune of Rs 100 crore for procuring vaccines. "The government has miserably failed to protect the people and vaccinate people. Hence, the MPs, MLAs and MLCs of the Congress, who are 95 in number have decided to donate at least Rs one crore each to procure vaccine," former CM Siddaramaiah, who is also the Congress legislative party leader, said at a press conference here. According to him, a total of Rs 100 crore will be given by Congress leaders in Karnataka for the purpose. "This is an unprecedented decision in the history of Karnataka," he told reporters at the Karnataka State Congress headquarters. (PTI)

Residents of Petalur village in Mundargi taluk, Gadag are in the throes of panic in the wake a majority of the people in this rural backwater complaining of fever, cough and other problems – many of these being symptoms of Covid-19. The villagers fear that Petalur is witnessing an outbreak of Covid-19 or some other equally dangerous infection. Taking cognisance of the problem, a team of officers and personnel from the district health and family welfare department paid a visit to Petalur on Wednesday to conduct a door-to-door survey to assess the condition of the villagers.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is well prepared ahead of Cyclone Tauktae striking the coasts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra, NDRF officials said on Friday. (ANI)

When Kashif Pasha, 44, a city-based businessman, received a call to assist a stranger in conducting the last rites of his mother, he did not think twice. Not only did he try to find the least-crowded crematorium, but also helped the son in completing the rituals as per tradition.

A woman volunteer from Bengaluru, who ensured hundreds of Covid-19 victims got a dignified farewell during the second wave, lost a relative to the virus on Wednesday as her family could find an ICU bed only after two days of frantic search. Anne Morris, 43, laid her brother-in-law Purushothaman, 51, a resident of Ramamurthynagar, to rest on Wednesday night and returned to her voluntary routine at various cemeteries and crematoria.

Fraudsters are taking advantage of the shortage of medical oxygen and concentrators, cheating people on the pretext of supplying the items. At least three such cases have been registered since May 5. Stuart Vanderveen, a 46-year-old businessman from Bhoopasandra, lost nearly Rs 13 lakh while trying to buy oxygen concentrators. Vanderveen said he contacted an agency called Surabhi Enterprises on May 2 and was promised concentrators. He paid more than Rs 12.5 lakh through online transactions. The devices never arrived and Vanderveen realised he had been cheated. The North CEN police are conducting inquiries in the case.

The Karnataka government is reportedly considering extending the lockdown beyond May 24 as the Covid-19 positivity rate and deaths are still high in many districts. There are some signs that the second wave may ease by the first week of June, but experts have recommended a cautious approach to the government.

The Karnataka capital on Thursday crossed the million mark in cumulative Covid-19 infections, and 25% of the cases have been reported in the past 13 days, indicating the severity of the second wave under which Bengaluru is reeling. The city saw 15,191 new cases on Thursday, taking the total caseload to 10,14,996. Karnataka reported 35,297 cases and 344 deaths. Having tested 1.2 lakh people in 24 hours, the state’s daily positivity rate stood at 27.6 %.

Youngsters from Bengaluru travelling to inoculation centres in surrounding districts such as Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru, Kolar and pockets of Bengaluru Rural like Nelamangala to get the Covid-19 shot, are increasingly running into resistance from locals, who say they are consuming their share of doses. While arguments have broken out, no untoward incident has taken place. District administrations are deploying police at session sites such as government hospitals, where vaccines are being administered. READ MORE

In an ambitious plan, the state government has decided to home deliver medical isolation kits within an hour of a person being declared positive from Saturday (May 15), CN Ashwath Narayan, deputy chief minister and state Covid task force head, said. Narayan said five lakh home isolation kits are being procured for the purpose. “In most cases, by the time Covid test results arrive, the infection will be in the inflammation stage,” the minister said. “So, what is needed mainly is anti-inflammatory treatment. This medical kit will mainly comprise antibiotic and antiviral tablets and vitamin supplements that are prescribed to reduce inflammation. In addition, it will also contain steroid tablets which could be used in the later stage if the symptoms are not mitigated.” READ MORE

The high court on Thursday directed the central government to place on record the decision taken with regard to the vaccine quota allocated to Karnataka for the second half of the month of May. A special division bench comprising chief justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and justice Aravind Kumar gave this direction after the additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati assured the court that the necessary decision towards bridging the gap visa-vis availability of vaccines in Karnataka is expected to be taken at a meeting scheduled to be held on May 14. READ MORE