Karnataka lockdown news live: State reports 16,068 new Covid-19 cases and 364 deaths

The Karnataka government on Friday approved an allocation of Rs 50,000 to every gram panchayat in the state from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) released for Covid management to address local issues. (ANI)

Even as the second Covid-19 wave is ebbing, the state government is preparing to deal with a possible third wave of the disease, by upgrading healthcare infrastructure and strengthening medical supplies. Karnataka health and family welfare department commissioner Dr K V Trilok Chandra said, “Generally we upgrade the facilities at government hospitals, but we are also gearing up for a possible third wave. We will set up paediatric ICUs in government hospitals.” READ FULL STORY

A local court on Wednesday granted conditional bail to Dr Rehan Shahed and data operator Sashikumar, both working in BBMP’s South Zone war room and arrested for their alleged role in the bed-blocking scam in May first week. The duo was arrested last month after MP Tejasvi Surya (BJP) alleged that hospital beds were being blocked in the war room and had named 16 Muslim youths without specifying their links to the scandal. However, none of the 16 youths were arrested. They were let off after questioning and cops stated they did not find any evidence against them.

The past few days have ushered in good tidings for North Karnataka, with the positivity rate dropping to less than 5% in 32 taluks in the region. Haveri, Bidar, Kalaburagi districts, along with parts of Dharwad, have registered a marked decline in the number of fresh cases being reported. However, this is not to say that the situation is hale and hearty across North Karnataka, with a few taluks in Vijayanagar, Vijayapura and the coastal Uttara Kannada districts struggling to cope with a positivity rate that is soaring past the 30% mark.

Days after a doctor in Karnataka was brutally thrashed by a mob, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the doctors not only need protection from the Covid-19 but also the BJP government's callousness. "Doctors need protection from coronavirus as well as BJP governments' callousness. Save the saviours," he tweeted. A 50-year-old doctor in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru district was assaulted by a mob allegedly over the death of a six-year-old patient earlier this week. While, in another incident, a doctor posted at a Covid care centre in Assam's Hojai district was mercilessly attacked by a mob including the family members of a deceased Covid patient on Tuesday.

SWAGERTand Sonu Sood Foundation along with the railway police have launched a rapid oxygen centre at Mangaluru central railway station here. The centre was opened This is the fourth project of SWAG ERT and Sonu Sood charity foundation in Karnataka. SWAG ERT director Amit Purohit said the Mangaluru GRP Station will function as a rapid oxygen centre for critical and emergency Covid-19 cases.

Apart from depending on the central government, the state started procuring vaccines on its own to tide over supply-related shortages. The state government said it will intensify the vaccination drive. “Around 58.7 lakh doses of vaccines are scheduled to be received by the state in June, of which 45 lakh will be delivered by the Centre and the remaining 13.7 lakh doses will be procured by the state government,” Sudhakar said. Of this, 48.5 lakh doses are Covishield and 10.2 lakh Covaxin. So far, Karnataka has received 1.45 crore doses of vaccines and has administered1.4 crore doses, including the second dose. The government said it will ensure there are no delays in the supply of Covaxin and increase vaccine coverage in other districts.

Schools and colleges across the city are organising vaccination drives for their staff and students aged over 18 years. Many international schools included their overseas-bound students in the drive. Many students have been desperately trying to get vaccinated with Covishield as they fear universities and countries may make vaccine certificates mandatory in the coming days. With Covishield being the only WHO-approved vaccine in the country as of now, and a longer gap recommended between the two required shots, students are trying hard to get inoculated before they can fly abroad in August or September.

Police teams have arrested 104 people this year for black marketeering of the drug remdesivir, whose demand shot up in April as Covid-19 cases began to surge. The suspects include some doctors, medical officers, pharmacists and staffers of private hospitals. Four people were caught with fake remdesivir vials, which, the police said, never reached any Covid-19 patient. Fifteen such vials, most of them filled with saline water, were seized. Doctors at Victoria Hospital and KC General Hospital, the government institutions at the forefront of the Covid-19 battle, said they had not come across any bogus vials. “The moment we hold the vial, we will come to know if it is a fake one. We read about fake remdesivir, but we have come across any,” a doctor said.

The Karnataka government on Friday announced that SSLC or 10th standard examinations will be held in the third week of July while cancelling the second year pre-university exams in view of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. "We are not holding the PUC exams this year. The grading will be based on their performance at the district level assessment in the first pre-university examination," Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said at a press conference. READ FULL STORY

An endeavour to paint murals on Malleswaram walls to depict the rich culture and history of one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods has abruptly come to a halt after a few artists tested positive for Covid-19. With 80% of the work over, the team, including those who have recovered from the infection, has vowed to return post lockdown to finish the rest of it and make it a visual treat for both locals and visitors. Bengaluru-based artist Yash Bhandari was overjoyed to receive the assignment themed Malleswaram Hogona in early March. It envisaged converting walls of the conservancy lanes of Malleswaram into a canvas that would throw light on the locality’s history, its people and culture.

District administrations and zilla panchayats have been trying to tackle the Covid case spike in villages while grappling with a severe shortage of resources. READ FULL STORY

The discontent brewing between Mysuru deputy commissioner Rohini Sindhuri and city corporation (MCC) commissioner Shilpa Nag over Covid-19 management came to the fore on Thursday after the latter resigned from IAS, alleging “harassment” by the former. While Nag is a 2014-batch IAS officer, Sindhuri is from the 2009 batch. Mysuru district in-charge minister ST Somashekar said the government will not accept Nag’s resignation and that he would go to Mysuru on Friday to convince her to rethink her decision. “Nag has done good work. I will talk to chief minister BS Yediyurappa and chief secretary regarding the issue,” he said. Chief secretary P Ravi Kumar too is expected to visit Mysuru on Friday on the matter, official sources said. READ FULL STORY HERE

Though ravaged by the second wave of the pandemic, Bengaluru has displayed remarkable resilience on the vaccination front. It tops the list of districts across the country, vaccinating 29.4 lakh people with at least one dose. While the targeted population for vaccination in the tech capital is 99 lakh, a total of 36.3 lakh doses have been administered do far. Of this, 29.4 lakh have got the first dose and 6.9 lakh the second dose. Bengaluru district is followed by Mumbai, which has administered the first dose to 27.6 lakh persons out of its targeted population of 1.3 crore. These two cities are followed by Pune and Ahmedabad, which have jabbed around 20 lakh people with at least one dose. READ FULL STORY

In the south, Chennai is the only city other than Bengaluru that finds a mention in the above 10-lakh list: It has vaccinated 15.5 lakh people with at least one dose out of its targeted population of 46 lakh. However, what has to be appreciated is the way in which Bengaluru managed to keep itself ahead on the vaccination front despite the healthcare infrastructure almost crumbling following a surge in the cases. “We were also hit by vaccine shortage, but we did not take our eye off the vaccination drive. We knew we had to keep it going if we have to flatten the Covid curve and put the economy on the recovery mode at the earliest,” state health minister K Sudhakar said.

About two months ago, after ventilators were supplied by the Centre under the PM Cares initiative, critical care units were launched in all six community health centres (CHCs) in Mudhol taluk, Bagalkot district, about 530km from Bengaluru. These CCUs were opened amidst much fanfare and special pujas were conducted as local politicians sought to get their share of the credit. However, ever since, these units have remained unused — even at the peak of the second wave when demand for such beds far outstripped supply — as hospital staff did not have the expertise to operate ventilator-supported beds. READ FULL STORY