Karnataka setting up more labs to test for coronavirus

Karnataka is setting up testing laboratories in Mysuru, Hassan, Shivamogga, Belagavi and Ballari to check the spread of COVID-19, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar told the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

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Speaking during a zero hour discussion, Sudhakar said only three labs in Bengaluru are receiving samples to check for coronavirus. “Only those accredited by NABH and NABL are allowed to test. We now have such a facility at NIMHANS along with Victoria Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases. The government is in the process of setting up testing facilities zone-wise at Mysuru, Hassan, Shivamogga, Belagavi and Ballari,” Sudhakar said.

No positive case has been detected in Karnataka so far, Sudhakar said. “As many as 87,066 foreign passengers arriving at Bengaluru and Mangaluru international airports as well as seaports have been screened. Of them, 622 who came from countries having positive cases of COVID-19 have been kept under home quarantine,” he said.

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While WHO prescribes quarantining for 14 days, Karnataka’s protocol is to follow a 28-day quarantine, he said.

The minister said that COVID-19 had spread to 77 countries with 95,000 cases killing 3,200 people and some 50,000 had recovered. In India, he said there were 30 confirmed cases without any deaths.

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When members pointed out that masks were short in supply and their prices had skyrocketed, Sudhakar clarified that everyone need not wear them. “Only those with symptoms need to wear masks,” he said. “The virus spreads through droplets. That’s why handshakes should be avoided, since our hands may be sweaty.”

The government has placed orders for N95 masks and they will be available in sufficient numbers at state-run institutions, Sudhakar said.

Some 3,000 beds across the state have been reserved for COVID-19 patients, the minister said, adding that the government was in talks with private and defence hospitals to increase quarantine capacity.