Amid speculation of another round of lockdown in Bengaluru to contain the surge of COVID-19 cases, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa today confirmed that the lockdown will not be extended. “There won’t be any extension of lockdown in Bengaluru urban & rural districts,” the Karnataka chief minister said today, according to news agency ANI.
To contain the spread of the virus, the state government implemented a strict lockdown in Bengaluru on July 15. The restrictions will be effective till 5 am on July 22. “Lockdown is not the solution to control COVID-19,” Yediyurappa earlier said.
United diagnosticss
The capital of Karnataka has recorded over 1,500 fresh cases today. At least 3,648 people have tested positive for the virus in the state. The deadly virus has claimed 72 lives, taking the death toll in the state to 1,403. The active number of COVID-19 cases in the state have increased to 42,216.
The newly appointed civic body commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad said on Sunday there was no question of extending the ongoing week-long Bengaluru lockdown.
Karnataka government earlier said it has engaged Swasth to provide remote home isolation monitoring services to COVID-19 patients. Swasth is a non-profit consortium of healthcare partners. The state health department has implemented a 10-day care package for patients isolating at home for an initial period of one month. The care package will include daily monitoring of patients by healthcare professionals, and periodic check-ins by doctors. As more patients with non-serious COVID-19 symptoms are being advised to isolate at home to ensure the availability of beds and resources for severely-ill patients, the system is intended to prevent the spread of the disease and ensure adequate care for patients in home isolation, the department said.
The chief minister earlier directed all the ministers to hold meetings with private hospitals to ensure that all patients get treatment, a statement from chief minister’s office read. “Strict action against private hospitals if they don’t allocate beds for COVID-19 patients,” he said.
The lockdown in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district has been extended till the midnight of July 27. The decision to extend the lockdown was taken as the “number of COVID-19 cases has not come down,” according to an order issued by Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner, B Sharat
