3,176 new covid-19 cases in Karnataka, 1,975 in Bengaluru including 60 deaths

3,176 new covid-19 cases in Karnataka, 1,975 in Bengaluru including 60 deaths

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, July 16, 2020:   The surge of Covid-19 in Karnataka and Bengaluru continued as a record 3,176 persons tested positive across the state including 1,985 in its capital.

 

The total number of cases in Karnataka now stands at 47,253 of which 27,853 are active.

The death toll stood at 928 as 87 more persons died in the 24 hour period until 5 pm on Wednesday,according to the daily bulletin of the state health department.

Bengaluru reported a record 60 deaths on Wednesday raising concerns over the rising mortality rate in India’s technology capital.

The B.S.Yediyurappa-led Karnataka government continued to deliberate on ways to control the spread but is yet to come up with any concrete solution other than relapse into a lockdown that further adds to the economic distress.

The week-long lockdown in Bengaluru began on Wednesday but it remains to be seen if teething problems like backlogs in testing, lack of contact tracing and getting unwilling private hospitals to fight alongside the government among other issues will be fixed.

Karnataka health minister B.Sriramulu on Wednesday said that “only god can help us", expressing a sense of helplessness and indicating how the situation was rapidly slipping out of the administration’s grip. He had earlier stated that the number of cases in Karnataka will double in the next 15-30 days.

The war of words between the government and private medical hospitals over availability of beds for covid-19 treatment made matters worse as it set two key players required to contain the pandemic on a collision course.

Every single district in Karnataka reported cases on Wednesday with three being the least that indicates how widespread the problem is for the state.

The mineral-rich district of Ballri became the third district apart from Bengaluru to breach the 2000 case mark as 136 persons tested positive on Wednesday.

Karnataka crossed nine lakh tests milestone on Wednesday but it still stands well below at least seven other states in these parameters.

Medical education minister K.Sudhakar said that the capacity will be further enhanced to 50,000 tests but this is an assurance the former has been making since April.