Karnataka Covid lockdown news live: State govt launches online system to prevent hoarding of Remdesivir

In a bid to ensure smooth supply and prevent pilferage and black-marketing of Remdesivir, the government has developed a system that not only informs patients via SMS that a vial has been issued against his/her name but also allows him/her to tip off the state if they don’t get the dose.

Chief secretary P Ravi Kumar indicated that the vaccination crisis is set to go on for a couple of months with the state receiving only 50% of its fortnightly quota from the Centre and the rest arriving days later, sending the inoculation programme into disarray. “The situation might ease after June,” he said. He said the Union government had allocated 15 lakh doses to Karnataka for every fortnight, but the state was receiving only 8 lakh doses, including 90,000 of Covaxin, largely due to high demand from states and manufacturing constraints. “We are expecting the remaining (7 lakh) doses in the next 2-3 days,” he added.

Following severe shortage of vaccines and supply constraints, Karnataka government on Wednesday night decided to suspend vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group at government facilities from May 14 until further notice. Private hospitals, however, will continue administering vaccine doses for all age groups.

The high court on Wednesday said that it was for the Karnataka government to decide on deputing experts to probe the alleged hospital bed-blocking scam in Bengaluru. The court also asked a senior IPS officer to monitor the probe regularly since the allegations are serious in nature.

With 5,92,182 active cases, Karnataka on Wednesday climbed to the top of the country’s Covid-19 list, going past Maharashtra’s 5,46,129. This number is a clear indicator of the burden on the healthcare system, including patients in hospitals, Covid Care Centres and home isolation.

The toll due to lack of oxygen at the Chamarajanagar district hospital on the intervening night of May 2/3, 2021 could be higher than 24, said a three-member panel appointed by the Karnataka high court. While confirming that 24 Covid-19 patients died due to lack of oxygen in the district hospital that night as oxygen was not available for four hours from 10.30pm on May 2, the panel, headed by retired HC judge Justice AN Venugopala Gowda, noted that 62 died in the hospital between May 4, 2021 and 6.15am on May 10, 2021 and at least 36 were in-patients on May 2.