Govt misleading Karnataka on Covid figures: Siddaramaiah

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah accused the state government of hiding the true number of victims who perished to Covid-19. The government is cheating the state by reducing test numbers to mislead people into believing that case numbers are coming down, he said.

"Can Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa contain Covid-19 in the state by keeping people in the dark?" the Congress leader asked.

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According to experts, a wave of a pandemic subsides if positivity rate falls by 5 per cent. In the state, however, positivity rate is increasing with many districts recording positivity rate of over 50 per cent, he said.

In the last week of April, Karnataka was conducting an average of 1.75 lakh tests per day, which is now reduced by 30 per cent to around 1.15-1.24 lakh tests, he said. Highlighting other 'deficiencies' of the government in tackling the pandemic, Siddaramaiah demanded the government to increase testing and ensure that test reports are out in 24 hours.