7 new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, CM briefs opposition

Seven new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Karnataka taking the total number of infections to 83, the state Health Department said on Sunday.

The number includes thee deaths and five patients who were discharged after treatment earlier.

Seventy-five COVID-19 positive patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, it said in an update.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday held an all-party meeting and apprised the leaders about the measures taken by the government to contain the coronavirus in the state.

At the meeting, Yediyurappa said there was no shortage of testing kits, medicines and face-masks.

"If there is a need, we will import more (testing kits) from various places. We will distribute testing kits to all the district and Taluk hospitals," he said.

The chief minister also said that the government has decided to provide life cover to police and civil workers who are on the job to halt the spread of the virus.

The government apprised the opposition leaders that it has taken extra precautions to maintain the supply of food grains through the Public Distribution System.

City civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike on Sunday started 31 fever clinics with all the necessary equipment and adequate number of doctors and paramedics.

It said these clinics, where fever test camps would be held, would work on all weekdays, including government holidays, from 9 am to 4.30 pm.

The Palike also said that seventeen hotels have been identified in the city to quarantine the suspected COVID-19 cases, adding it has set up a war room to deal with the coronavirus patients.

Meanwhile, a leader of Janata Dal (Secular), headed by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, requested the government to deploy defence personnel along with vehicles to evacuate stranded persons from the cities to their villages.

B M Farookh, also a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, said people returning to their villages from cities along the high-ways would end up in human suffering and disaster, much dangerous than the impact of coronavirus.

He said people from lower strata of society have started walking down long distances to their villages as the public transportation stands suspended.

Most of them do not have much resources to support themselves and may end up in collapsing on the way back without food or drinking water, he said in a letter to the Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Finance Minister.

This situation could be averted by deploying defence personnel with vehicle to reach them safely to their destination and since the defence is well equipped with the logistics and trained personnel in a war-like situation, safety could be ensured for them as well as to the commuters, Farookh added.