Karnataka to seal clusters completely, only severe COVID cases to be hospitalised

Tackling the sharp rise in Coronavirus cases in Bengaluru, Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa, on Monday, held an emergency meeting with concerned officials and departments.  After the meeting, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that the 'only critical cases will be treated at COVID hospitals', while rest will be treated at COVID care centres. The government has also decided to completely seal and maximum testing will be done. Karnataka's COVID-19 tally stands at 9150 cases with 137 deaths.

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Karnataka to completely seal clusters

"It has been decided that clusters (areas having 3-4 #COVID19 cases) will be totally sealed&maximum testing will be done there. Only critical cases will be shifted to COVID hospitals. I demanded that police personnel are tested on priority," said Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai to ANI.

Talking about the bed facilities, Deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayan said that COVID care centers where patients will be admitted will have a minimum of 20,000 beds. He assured that the state is listing several private hospitals and have sufficient beds. Karnataka has a healthy recovery rate of 61.39%, while its a mortality rate remains low at 1.49% - additionally, the state quarantines every inter-state arrival for 14 days and traces COVID-19 contacts within 24 hours, touted Karnataka Minister for Medical Education.

COVID-19 tally in Karnataka breaches 9,000 mark; Bengaluru reports 196 new infections

Karnataka's COVID rise

On Sunday, Bengaluru registered its highest spike of 196 cases, which has led health experts to believe that they are in the community transmission stage, as per reports. Several cases from Padarayanapura, Nanjangud and many places in north Karnataka were reportedly found with no previous contacts. Experts are mulling on expanding their random testing as they expect cases to rise in the next two months.

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Karnataka's efficient COVID-19 battle

As per testing statistics, Karnataka ranks among the top three states apart from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh - testing 13,000-15,000 people per day, inspite of their low COVID-19 numbers. The government has also capped the test of pricing at Rs 2600 and Rs 4500 for government and private hospitals respectively. Treatment prices too have been capped at Rs 5200 per day for cases in general wards, Rs 7500 per day for oxygen support, Rs 8500 per day for an isolation ward, and Rs 12000 for an ICU with a ventilator. 

Karnataka's capital Bengaluru has maintained its low numbers due to its effective tracking, with teams tracing 47 contacts per positive case. In comparison, Mumbai has traced 10-15 contacts while Delhi traces only 2 contacts, according to studies. Moreover, Bengaluru maintained a very strict implementation of the lockdown, monitoring severe areas.  

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