Karnataka reports record 592 deaths, over 50K cases

Of this, 21,000 cases were reported from Bengaluru alone

Karnataka on Friday reported a record 592 deaths and 50,000 new infections, of which 346 deaths and more than 21,000 cases were found in Bengaluru alone.

The warning given by experts came true on Friday as the deaths in the districts rose to 246, nearly 45 per cent of the total deaths. Ballari led with 24 deaths, followed by Mysuru (22), Hassan (20), Kalaburagi (19), Shivamogga (14) and others.

On May 1, barring Bengaluru Urban, deaths crossed double digits in only two districts, Bengaluru Rural and Tumakuru.

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The numbers from districts not only indicate a sudden surge but also limited health infrastructure which is overwhelmed by the high demand for oxygen beds and ventilator-equipped ICU beds. They also show that the curfew restrictions imposed from April 27 were yet to make an impact on the chain of infections. The positivity rate for the day stood at 30.69 per cent.

Of the 48,781 cases reported on Friday, Bengaluru accounted for 21,376, followed by Tumakuru (3040), Hassan (2422), Mysuru (2246), Kalaburagi (1722), Ballari (1284) with many others reporting between 500 and 976 cases. With 120 new cases, Chitradurga reported the lowest number.

The total active cases across the state reached 5.36 lakh, a big increase from 4.05 lakh as reported on May 1. The number of discharged patients stood at 28,623. Compared to the previous day, the number of tests done by the state has come down by 5,539, which explains Friday's decrease of 277 cases from Thursday's 49,058.