The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Karnataka plans law to home-quarantine senior citizens, says Sudhakar

    Synopsis

    The minister said he was in talks with experts on this aspect, he told reporters. The idea was to protect senior citizens from covid infection, and control the spread, he told reporters after paying surprise visits to Jayanagar General Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Chest Hospital.

    Coronavirus
    BENGALURU: The State Government is thinking on the lines of bringing a law to ensure home isolation for senior citizens with health complications, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Sunday.

    The minister said he was in talks with experts on this aspect, he told reporters. The idea was to protect senior citizens from covid infection, and control the spread, he told reporters after paying surprise visits to Jayanagar General Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Chest Hospital.

    The government has also asked health authorities to subject senior citizens suffering from health ailments and fever symptoms to covid tests, Sudhakar said.

    PRIVATE HOSPITALS WARNED
    The government will file criminal cases against private hospitals if they turn away covid-19 positive patients, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Sunday.

    “No hospital can refuse treatment to a covid patient,” “If any private hospital refuses to admit patients, they can call 1912 help-line and lodge a complaint,” the minister said.

    Comparing Bengaluru’s record with the cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, he said the tech capital has the lowest mortality rate at 1.46% of those tested positive. “Once we increase testing, it is natural that the positive cases will also increase. So citizens need not panic due to this but should take precautionary measures,” he said.

    Karnataka reports 1925 cases, Bengaluru count touches 1235
    Bengaluru Urban district reported 1235 Covid-19 positive cases on Sunday, making up a lion's share of Karnataka's 1925 fresh cases. The State also reported 37 deaths, 16 of them in Bengaluru Urban.

    The number of recovered patients was a little less than a third of the new cases reported. The State currently has 13,251 active cases and 9847 persons have been discharged, so far. The number of deaths so far has risen to 372.

    The total positive cases in the state have shot up to 23,474, and there are 243 persons admitted in ICU beds, a majority of them in Bengaluru.

    The government has stepped up testing, and the number of samples tested has gone up to 16,899 on Sunday. The government has done 6.5 lakh swab tests, so far, and the cost of testing at private labs has been capped at Rs.2,200 per test, according to Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar.

    In terms of active cases, while Bengaluru Urban has 8167 cases, Dakshina Kannada, Ballari and Vijayapura districts have 663, 657 and 143 cases, respectively.



    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in