mangalore today

Biggest single day spike of 2,228 COVID-19 cases in Karnataka


www.mangaloretoday.com

Bengaluru, July 9, 2020: The total number of COVID-19 infections in  on Thursday breached the 30,000 mark as the state reported its biggest single day spike of over 2,200 new cases and 17 related fatalities, taking the death toll to 486, the Health department said.

Chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday said that the Covid-19 pandemic is going “out of control in some districts” but added that all steps were being taken to address the situation. He, however, did not specify the districts.



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The state, especially its capital Bengaluru, has seen a sharp spike in coronavirus infections in the last couple of weeks. There has been nearly an eight-fold jump in the number of active cases in the city in the last fortnight.

With 17 more deaths reported in the last 24 hours due to the disease, the state’s death toll has risen 486 while 12,833 people have been discharged after being cured.

To deal with the spike in infections, the state government is converting the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) into a 10,000-bed Covid Care Centre. The chief minister visited the Centre on Thursday to review its readiness. The government said the centre would be fully operational within a week.

Speaking to the media after the visit, Yediyurappa claimed that central government officials who visited the state on Tuesday had expressed confidence in the preparedness of the state to face all challenges.

Talking about the new Covid Care Centre at the new centre, the CM said that for every 100 patients admitted, there would be one doctor, two nurses, one attender, one cleaner and two marshals for security and care.

The new BIEC centre is expected to take the load off the hospitals in the city by caring for those with minimal symptoms and the hospitals could be used to treat those needing more urgent attention.

The Chief Minister appealed to the migrant workers from Karnataka working in Bengaluru not to migrate to rural areas.

“I once again appeal to people not to leave Bangalore and go to rural parts as it will only spread the pandemic further,” he said.

The CM has called for a meeting on Friday of all elected representatives including MLAs and MPs from Bangalore.

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday also agreed to regularise the services of 508 contract doctors working across the state. This decision was announced by minister of law and parliamentary affairs JC Madhuswamy. The contract doctors have been agitating that their services should be made regularised and had even threatened to resign in case their demand was not met.