Karnataka reports more than 3,000 Covid-19 cases in 24 hrs

Karnataka for the first time recorded more than 3,000 cases in a single day. Out of the 3,176 new cases reported on Wednesday, 65% of the cases that is 1,975 were from Bengaluru alone.

Now the state is reporting more new cases daily than Delhi. The state's total cases are doubling in nine days as opposed to the national average of 21 days.

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The state also reported a record 87 deaths for the second consecutive day, 60 of which were from Bengaluru alone. However, these deaths happened from June 24 to July 14 over a period of 20 days.

The youngest to die among the reported fatalities was a 26-year-old man, a case of influenza-like illness (ILI) who had a fever and chronic kidney disease. He died at home on July 9. There has been no explanation from the health department on the inordinate delay in reporting Covid-19 fatalities.

The state's recovery rate is 39.45% and the mortality rate is 1.94%.

With this, the total number of active cases in the state has shot up to 27,853. Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar attributed this meteoric rise in cases to a milestone in testing. "The state tested 22,204 tests in a single day on Wednesday alone. This is a new milestone. This coincides with another milestone of detecting more than 3,000 cases in a single day," he said.

In Bengaluru, 1,095 antigen tests were conducted on Wednesday out of which 148 tested positive. "In the next 15 days, 58 medical colleges together will be able to test about 25,000 to 30,000 samples every day. Private hospitals and labs together will be able to test another 10,000 samples per day. Together the testing capacity will be stepped up to 40,000 to 50,000 per day," Sudhakar said.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on July 15

To make effective use of the week-long lockdown in containing Covid-19, every booth level task force, in all 8,154 teams, will cover 300-400 households or 1000-1500 population and conduct door to door survey to identify vulnerable people including senior citizens, people with comorbidities, ILI and SARI. They will also check homes which qualify for home isolation in case any person needs to be isolated.

They will also create awareness about the reverse isolation of elderly above 60 at home. the teams will consist of block-level officers, linemen, watermen, BBMP officers, 5-10 local volunteers, presiding officers of social organisations, elected representatives, and workers from political parties. 5,000 incentive for those who donate plasma

18,466 people have recovered so far in the state out of which 5,455 are in Bengaluru. 597 people are recuperating in ICUs across the state with 317 in the state capital alone. Sudhakar appealed to recovered people to donate plasma and save lives. Rs.5000 incentive will henceforth be provided to every plasma donor as a mark of appreciation.