16 new coronavirus cases in Karnataka, Total 144, health department said on Saturday Evening

Bengaluru, Apr 4 (PTI) Sixteen fresh coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of those affected in the state to 144, the Health department said on Saturday.

Till this evening, 144 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes four deaths and 11 discharges, the department said in a bulletin.

A 75-year old man, a resident of Bagalkote, who was confirmed positive on Friday and was undergoing treatment at a designated hospital in the district, expired last night.

Education Minister Suresh Kumar, briefing reporters about the bulletin, said the man initially consulted an ayurveda doctor, then gone to a private hospital.

He later went to another hospital and was there for four days. However doctors there suspected his conditions to be that of coronavirus and sent him to the designated hospital, where he was for one day before he died, the minister said.

The man had cardiac stent,high diabetes and hypertension, the Minister said and appealed to doctors and hospitals to refer patients to government hospitals as soon as they detect symptoms.

Among 16 newly infected- two had attended Tablighi Jamaat congregation from March 13 to 18 at Delhi, while seven are from Mysuru (four of whom had a travel history to Delhi in January, much before the congregation).

Though the Minister did not give exact number of people from Karnataka who had attended the congregation, he said, as of date, reports of 214 of the 380 samples collected had been received

"Out of the 214 reports, 198 are negative and 16 are positive," he said.

The government has appealed to those who has attended the Congregation to contact 080-29711171 Arogya Sayavaani.

Among the 19 foreigners who had attended the Jamaat, 10 are from Indonesia and nine from Kyrgyzstan, all of whom tested negative.

Out of total 129 active cases in the state, 126(including a pregnant woman) are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable and three in Intensive Care Units (one on oxygen and two on Ventilators).

Among the 144 cases, eight are transit passengers of Kerala who landed in airports in Karnataka and are being treated in the state.

Among these cases, 55 were reported from Bengaluru, 28 from Mysuru, 12 from Dakshina Kannada, ten from Bidar, eight from Uttara Kannada, seven from Chikkaballapur, five from Kalaburgai and Ballari, three each from Davangere, Belagavi and Udupi, and one each from Kodagu, Tumakuru, Bagalkote, Dharwad and Bengaluru Rural.

Those discharged include nine patients from Bengaluru and two from Kalaburagi.

Among the deceased are one person each from Kalaburgari, Bengaluru, Bagalkote and Tumakuru.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa held a meeting with Ministers, MLAs, Parliamentarians, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Bengaluru, which has more than half the number of COVID-19 cases in the state.

He told reporters after the meeting that arrangements have been made to supply foodgrains to non-ration card holders, most of them from other states, during the lockdown.

The Chief Minister, who hoped that the lockdown will be relaxed in a phased manner after April 14, also issued a strict warning to private hospitals which are closed or not treating patients during this time of health crisis.

In the wake of COVID-19 spread, Karaga, considered one of the city's oldest festivals and one that is usually celebrated with much fanfare, would be a quiet affair this time with the government permitting it to be observed only symbolically .

The Chief Minister also appealed to employers not to cut salaries of their maids, servants and drivers who are unable to attend work due to the lockdown that has been enforced to check the spread of COVID-19.

He said this compassionate gesture of employers would support the poor and needy.

The Department of Health & Family Welfare has launched Jagruti Karnataka a Youtube channel to raise awareness among health care workers, especially grassroot level workers at Gram Panchayath level, about COVID-19 and ensure that correct protocol is adhered in treatment, the bulletin said.

Videos are available in both Kannada and English.

As per the directions of the Union Health and Family Welafre Ministry, Karnataka has notified nine dedicated hospitals as treatment facilities for COVID-19 patients.

The Home Quarantine Enforcement squad quarantined 20 people in institutions on Friday, based on complaints from the public, the bulletin said, adding 361 persons have so far been shifted from home Quarantine to institutional quarantine. PTI KSU