Karnataka Covid lockdown news live: State registers 31,531 new cases, 403 deaths

Central Crime Branch sleuths on Friday arrested a 25-year-old nurse with Jayanagar General Hospital and seized six Remdesivir vials from him. Police said H Maruti stole them from patients undergoing treatment in the hospital and was trying to sell them for Rs 20,000 each. “The vials were bought in the name of different patients. Maruti said he stole from those patients who had been administered Remdesivir earlier. We asked hospital doctors to share medical records of the patients,” a CCB officer said, adding an explanation will be sought on how they hadn’t noticed the missing vials.

Considering the safety of citizens in the view of Covid-19, the Karnataka government has decided to shift all coronavirus vaccination centres from hospitals and Primary Health Centre (PHCs) to schools, colleges, and other safer locations. The decision was taken at the meeting of the state task force to combat Covid-19 chaired by Deputy Chief Minister and Task Force Chief Dr CN Ashwath Narayan. Several decisions were taken including procurement of two lakh pulse oximeters for patients in home isolation and Covid Care Centres.

Railway minister Piyush Goyal has written to chief minister BS Yediyurappa to deposit an outstanding share of Rs 847 crore for railway projects in Karnataka. However, the timing of the letter to the cash-strapped state government amid the second wave of Covid-19 has led to a public outcry on social media. In his May 3 letter to Yediyurappa, Goyal said: “Railways has taken up 16 projects on cost-sharing basis in Karnataka, an amount of Rs 847 crore is outstanding towards the state government’s share in these projects.”

Shailesh Ambekallu (52), a gram panchayat member in Devachalla village of Sullia taluk, picks up villagers from their homes in his car, takes them to a fair price shop so they can purchase monthly ration, and drops them back home amid the strict statewide lockdown that has hit rural life hard. Many villagers are forced to walk miles carrying rice, wheat, tur dal, sugar, refined oil, soap, onions and other items availed through the public distribution system as there are no buses and autorickshaws. Shailesh, also a farmer, told STOI he has helped over 60 families so far.

Clubbing of swab samples for pool Covid-19 testing has been nearly stopped in the state as positivity rates continue to surge. The approach was adopted in May 2020 to conserve resources, and it was halted in Bengaluru last month and in other districts recently. Pool testing is suggested only when a district’s positivity rate is below 5 per cent. Currently, several districts have a rate of more than 20 per cent. In the said approach, a suspected Covid patient’s nasal and throat swab samples are put in a liquid medium in a tube. One drop each from four other samples from the same area is pooled and tested. If the cumulative batch turns out to be negative, there is no need to test the five samples individually. If the batch comes positive, all five samples are tested separately.

Fifty-one teachers of government schools and four junior college lecturers died due to Covid-19 in Bidar district alone after being deputed for duty in the bypolls last month, claimed members of the state teachers’ union and kin of the deceased. The bypolls were held on April 17 for one Lok Sabha and two assembly seats in the state. The campaigns saw massive rallies and road shows until April 15. Several politicians, party workers and journalists who attended them also contracted the virus. “I have asked the Bidar deputy commissioner to verify if teachers who died of Covid contracted the infection while on election duty and then submit a report,” said Karnataka chief electoral officer Sanjeev Kumar.

The high demand for Liposomal Amphotericin B injections, used to treat mucormycosis, a rare but deadly fungal infection, has led to a shortage of the drug in the city and triggered black marketeering. Even some serious patients are unable to get the injection. Cases of mucormycosis, dubbed black fungus, are being seen in a section of people who recover from Covid-19. Patients whose immunity decreased because of high doses of steroids during treatment are thought to be particularly vulnerable. Some of the symptoms are blurring in the eyes, swollen face and nose bleeding. In most known cases, the patients suffered irreversible vision loss.

The districts continue to reel under the Covid-19 surge. Official data shows that around 65 per cent of the new cases in Karnataka are being reported from outside the tech capital. In the May 6-12 period, 24 districts had a positivity rate of more than 20 per cent, apart from Bengaluru. Positivity rate refers to the number of people being diagnosed with the infection per 100 tests. Uttara Kannada and Ballari districts had rates of 38 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, as against the state’s average rate of 27.24 per cent. Bengaluru’s figure during the period was 29 per cent. So, are Covid-19 cases beginning to plateau in Bengaluru? Senior officials of the health department offered a cautious assessment. “Everything depends on the data that is presented. The lockdown may have slowed the spread of the virus in the city. But what is alarming is that the Covid count is spiralling outside Bengaluru,” said an official.

With deaths due to Covid-19 surging in the city, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has used over 1,000 tonnes of wood for cremations in the past 15 days alone. The stock would have lasted nearly four months in normal times. The Palike directed its officials to utilise about 1,100 tonnes of wood stored in its five depots after open crematoria were opened in Tavarekere and Giddenahalli a few days ago. As it was exhausted in 15 days, the district administration is now buying wood from Karnataka State Forest Industrial Corporation Limited (KSFIC) by paying Rs 4,300 per tonne. Three of the 13 BBMP crematoria were shut after they developed problems because of overuse.

Concerns are being raised about the possibility of vertical transmission of coronavirus in apartment complexes in the city. Social media groups of some housing complexes are abuzz with cases reportedly in families living one above the other. One instance was reportedly seen in an apartment complex in east Bengaluru recently, where occupants of houses in the same vertical row were affected. Though no specific study on this has been conducted in Bengaluru, some in South Korea and Hong Kong suggest the possibility of vertical transmission of the virus. In Hong Kong, the administration issued an evacuation order in January 2021 at a housing complex where members of three houses in a vertical line were infected.

The Karnataka government on Saturday decided not to allow home isolation of Covid patients in rural areas and slums in urban regions, and to make necessary arrangements to ensure they get admitted mandatorily in Covid Care Centres (CCCs).

The Karnataka government on Saturday decided to utilise the funds under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund for purchase of oxygen tankers, oxygen concentrators, pulse-oximeters and other emergency medical needs, to fight Covid.

Over the last two weeks, Karnataka has witnessed devastating Covid-19 surge, recording the highest Covid-19 related deaths and a worrying number of new cases. Deaths in Bengaluru have also risen over the last few weeks. A total of 6,538 Covid patients had died in the city since the beginning of the pandemic. 162 fatalities were reported on May 1. By May 11, cumulative deaths rose to 8,691, with 259 daily deaths.

With lockdown-like curbs implemented in Bengaluru since late April, onion prices have dropped by at least Rs 6, which is worrisome not only for farmers but also traders. K Lokesh, president of Onion Merchants Association said, “With the lockdown being enforced across the state, events such as weddings and conferences are not taking place. In addition to this, several restaurants have reduced the quantity of food they cook.”

BBMP has opened 26 triage centres at Covid care facilities and maternity hospitals in the eight city zones, its chief commissioner, Gaurav Gupta, said on Friday. There are plans to open more such centres, which can help officials manage new patients more efficiently.

A 38-year-old doctor was arrested on charges of selling Remdisivir vials illegally, while a 31-year-old housekeeping staffer of his hospital was held for selling empty vials. Two of their associates are also in custody.