18 new Covid-19 cases raise Karnataka tally to 445

Bengaluru, April 23 (IANS) Karnataka on Thursday registered 18 new Covid-19 cases, raising the state’s tally to 445. “As of 5 p.m. Thursday, cumulatively 445 positive cases have been confirmed in the state. It includes 17 deaths and 145 discharges,” said a health official, here.

In the past 24 hours, 14 patients got discharged, taking the number of cured people from 131 to 145. However, among the places with high case-load, Vijayapura and Mandya are yet to record a discharge.

Of the 283 cases, 278 patients, including a pregnant woman, are isolated at designated hospitals and are stable, except five in ICU.

Among the 18 new cases, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 10, followed by Vijayapura, Mandya and Hubli, Dharwad (two each) and Bantwala, Dakshina Kannada and Kalaburagi (one each).

Of them, 17 are contacts of earlier cases, including 9 men who contracted coronavirus from a 55-year-old man from Bihar who arrived in the city only two months ago. He was living at Hongasandra in a small hutment, in close proximity with the 9 men.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases in Bengaluru Urban breached the 100-mark with 101 cases. However, only 48 of them are active and the rest 49 discharged.

Similarly, the state government has also made it mandatory for chemists to maintain a list of customers buying medicines to treat the influenza like illness (ILI) and the severe acute respiratory infection (SARI).

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Jawaid Akhtar has ordered Covid-19 screening of police personnel tasked with the pandemic duties. The state government has also issued a circular on employees in medical colleges.

“The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka, has issued a circular to all its affiliated colleges to not to stop the salary to teaching and non-teaching staff and not to remove any staff during this lockdown and students shall pay the fees in installments,” said an official statement.

The circular was based on instructions from Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar and orders from the Centre.

The state government has also issued a circular to the district authorities to resume all immunization services at health facilities except at Covid containment zones.

–IANS

sth/pcj