Karnataka Covid lockdown news live: State reports 44,631 new Covid-19 cases, 292 deaths
THE TIMES OF INDIA | May 04, 2021, 21:17:08 IST

Karnataka Covid lockdown news live: State reports 44,631 new Covid-19 cases, 292 deaths

Karnataka on Tuesday reported 44,631 new Covid-19 cases, 24,714 discharges and 292 deaths in the last 24 hours. Stay with TOI for all the latest updates from Karnataka.
21:17 (IST) May 04

Karnataka to inoculate journalists on priority basis treating them as frontline workers. (PTI)

20:09 (IST) May 04

Karnataka records 44,631 new Covid-19 cases, 24,714 discharges and 292 deaths in the last 24 hours.

19:11 (IST) May 04

Merely a day after nine deaths were reported at a hospital in Karnataka's Kalaburagi district due to shortage of oxygen, four more patients succumbed at a taluk hospital in Afzalpur area early on Tuesday as O2 cylinders did not arrive on time. The district administration, however, claimed that patients died as they failed to respond to the treatment and the health department had ensured supply of medical oxygen to the government facility.

16:49 (IST) May 04

MP to procure 2000 litre oxygen daily for her constituency

Reacting to reports about Mandya district facing an oxygen shortage, Mandya Lok Sabha MP Sumalatha Ambareesh said on Tuesday that she would be donating 2,000 litres of liquid oxygen as a philanthropic gesture. She announced this on her Twitter account by posting a two-page note in Kannada. (IANS)

16:03 (IST) May 04

Air force sets up Covid care centre for public at Bengaluru station

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to establish a COVID treatment facility with 100 beds at Air Force Station Bengaluru's in Jalahalli area for general people. An official press release stated that the facility will be operational on May 6 with only 20 beds and oxygen concentrators at first. Once oxygen availability is ensured by the state government, the remaining 80 beds are expected to be operational by May 20. Of the total 100 beds, there will be 10 ICU beds and 40 beds with piped oxygen. The remaining 50 beds will have oxygen concentrators, said IAF. (ANI)

14:14 (IST) May 04

Ten states account for over 71 per cent of new Covid-19 cases

Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi are among 10 states that account for 71.71 per cent of the 3,57,229 new Covid-19 cases in the country, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. India's daily positivity rate now stands at 21.47 per cent. The ministry said that Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 48,621. It is followed by Karnataka with 44,438 while Uttar Pradesh reported 29,052 new cases. Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are among the other states in the list of 10.

12:50 (IST) May 04

Total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses given in India crosses 15.89 crore

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.89 crore with 17,08,390 doses being given on May 3, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday. It said 4,06,339 beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine across 12 states and union territories. These are Chhattisgarh (1,025), Delhi (40,028), Gujarat (1,08,191), Haryana (55,565), Jammu and Kashmir (5,587), Karnataka (2,353), Maharashtra (73,714), Odisha (6,802), Punjab (635), Rajasthan (76,151), Tamil Nadu (2,744) and Uttar Pradesh (33,544).

10:20 (IST) May 04

Oxygen distribution needs robust system

The deaths of Covid-19 patients in Chamarajanagar and Kalaburagi hospitals in less than 24 hours due to non-availability of medical oxygen have exposed the lack of a sturdy distribution mechanism as well as official bungling. Despite several warnings by health experts, the government failed to assess the shortage of oxygen and take remedial steps. The response brings to mind a Kannada proverb: digging a well for water when people are dying of thirst. It’s been more than two weeks since hospitals and health experts have repeatedly highlighted scarcity of oxygen and asked the government to ramp up facilities, especially in districts, where cases are rising. Social media is full of messages of people begging for oxygen cylinders to save their dear ones.

10:18 (IST) May 04

‘Oxygen shortage’ claims 9 lives in Kalaburagi

Nine persons, including the wife of a doctor, died in Kalaburagi district reportedly due to lack of oxygen. While five died at a private hospital in Kalaburagi city, four died in an Aland hospital. District health officer and private hospital management denied they died due to shortage of oxygen. In Mandya, 50-year-old Dhananjay died due to non-availability of an oxygenated bed after waiting for two hours in an ambulance. Among the dead in Kalaburagi was Arundhathi Patil, 53, wife of general physician Dr CS Patil. Sources said the 60-yearold doctor watched as his wife died due to lack of oxygen at Anand Hospital. Hospital chief Dr Anand Pujari confirmed that they “could not do anything due to non-availability of oxygen”.

08:46 (IST) May 04

44k cases in K’taka; 30% positivity rate

Karnataka on Monday reported 44,438 fresh Covid cases in the past 24 hours with the daily positivity rate touching a whopping 30% — which means 30 turn out positive for every 100 tests conducted. Bengaluru accounted for 22,112 of the new cases. Of the state’s 4.4 lakh total active cases, 2.9 lakh cases are from Bengaluru. The day saw 239 succumbing to the virus, and 115 were from Bengaluru. Karnataka saw 42 cases of double-mutant B.1.617 variant through genomic sequencing conducted at Nimhans. A week ago, the state had detected 20 cases from clusters in Bengaluru and Kalaburagi. But the newly detected double-mutant variant cases are from samples from across the state.

08:46 (IST) May 04

Two Raichur teachers who were on poll duty succumb to virus; 56 test positive

With two government schoolteachers who had been deputed on poll duty in Raichur district succumbing to Covid-19, panic has gripped members of the fraternity who had been assigned to election duty in the recently concluded Maski bypoll in the district. That 16 more teachers who tested positive have been admitted to hospitals has only heightened their fears. In all, 56 teachers who were on poll duty have tested positive for the virus. There have been reports of some of the teachers undergoing treatment at private hospitals being fleeced to buy Remdesivir vials in the black market.

08:44 (IST) May 04

Ambulance demand up, citizens left to fend for themselves

As complaints about shortage of ambulances, increased waiting time and drivers demanding exorbitant charges pour in from across the city, many NGOs and resident welfare associations are purchasing/hiring ambulances to be prepared during emergencies. The move comes following the government’s failure to provide adequate number of ambulances and regulate fares. Waseem Memon of DriveWithout Borders, an NGO, said: “We recently bought a Maruti Omni van and converted it into an ambulance with stretcher and oxygen facility at a cost of Rs 1.3 lakh. This entire process took a week. We propose to have more such ambulances at the earliest.”

08:43 (IST) May 04

Mom died on my lap pleading for oxygen, says B’luru techie

“While she lay in my arms, she looked at my face and kept pleading to get her oxygen as she gasped for air. But I couldn’t do anything,” said software professional Martin Thomas, whose Covidpositive mother breathed her last on his lap without getting an ICU bed on Monday morning. This even as Martin’s father, Thomas, lay in another room, struggling to breathe and asking for oxygen. Thomas, 71, and his wife Radha, 65, residents of Tavarekere, visited their daughter’s house recently and came back to their residence. As they were suffering from fever and shortness of breath, they got themselves tested for Covid-19. On Saturday, their results came positive. Martin said he isolated his father and mother in two separate rooms and searched for ICU or oxygen bed for two days, but in vain.

08:43 (IST) May 04

Elderly volunteer helps run vax drive at govt hosp

For those taking the Covid-19 jab at CV Raman General Hospital in Indiranagar, it’s hard to miss an elderly man in a cotton shirt, khaki pants and fluorescent green jacket assisting people, controlling crowds and enforcing order. From 9am-4pm, Satish Rao, 59, an Indiranagar resident and retired engineer, is present at the hospital to ensure the vaccination process is smooth. He’s been doing this since March 2. Rao, a familiar face in several volunteering groups, was earlier with Teach India initiative and has also been active in animal welfare. When the pandemic struck, he started volunteering by coordinating with BBMP in ensuring quarantine of citizens.

08:42 (IST) May 04

More kids testing +ve, need hospitalisation in second wave

A sharp spike in children testing positive for Covid-19 and developing gastroenteritis symptoms like vomiting, loose stools and acute fatigue has caused concern among paediatricians and parents. Unlike mild infections or no symptoms, as was the case during the first Covid wave last year, several children require hospitalisation now, they said. On Sunday, 640 children tested positive in Bengaluru and 25 have been admitted in the past three weeks at Shishuka Children’s Specialty Hospital. “In the first wave, admission was not required for a majority of Covid-positive patients, but the situation is not the same now. Covid-positive children are showing symptoms of vomiting, loose stools and high grade fever and none has chest infection as anticipated,” said paediatric pulmonologist and hospital director Dr Bharath Reddy.

08:41 (IST) May 04

Replenish oxygen stocks, Bengaluru private hospitals urge govt

The wide gap between demand and supply of medical oxygen has threatened to snowball into a massive public-health emergency as SOS calls poured in from several desperate Bengaluru private hospitals seeking the life-saving element. Medax Hospital in RT Nagar wrote to a patient’s relative, asking her to look for a bed in any other hospital. The letter said the hospital had informed the attendant about the dwindling stock on May 1 and it pressed the alarm again on Monday saying that the oxygen stock was emptying by 5pm. Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh released a video in which he informed the government that 200 patients admitted in Rajarajeswari Medical College Hospital were in need of oxygen and appealed to chief secretary P Ravi Kumar to save their lives.

20:36 (IST) May 03

Karnataka reports 44,438 fresh Covid cases including 22,112 cases in Bengaluru Urban, 20,901 discharges and 239 deaths. (ANI)

19:07 (IST) May 03

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) will establish five oxygen generation plants across Karnataka, including Dakshina Kannada, to support the state’s fight against the second wave of the Covid pandemic.

18:27 (IST) May 03

Venting his ire against the Mysuru district administration, Karnataka education minister S Suresh Kumar said on Monday that it can not adopt the big brother attitude when it comes to supply of oxygen or other life-saving drugs to the other districts. (IANS)

17:46 (IST) May 03

Falling oxygen saturation, excessive fatigue are warning signs that indicate COVID patient in home isolation needs hospitalisation: Govt. (PTI)