Karnataka govt warns hospitals of legal action over non-compliance with Coronavirus orders

Karnataka Deputy Commissioner, Sharat B on Thursday revealed some private hospitals in Karnataka's Kalaburagi city were not reporting information about patients with COVID-19 symptoms on time. "Cases are being brought to ESIC hospital late," he said. The Deputy Commissioner added that due to this negligence, they had to quarantine the entire staff of a hospital owing to the delayed reporting. He said that the state government would take legal action against hospitals if such cases continued to happen. 

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"In one such case, we have taken steps to quarantine the entire staff of a hospital of Kalaburagi city and taken legal steps against them for non-compliance of orders issued to them," said the Deputy Commissioner. 

The case that he was referring to was the one where a 65-year-old man from Kalaburagi district became the fifth COVID-19 fatality in Karnataka, pushing the tally in the state to 181. The man with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), died at a designated hospital in Kalaburagi on Tuesday, a day after being shifted from a private hospital where he was initially treated for two days. The private hospital had been locked and its entire medical team quarantined. A notice has been served on it for the act of "criminal negligence" (by not referring the patient to the designated hospital). 

Read: Karnataka Reports 5th COVID-19 Death; 6 Fresh Cases

Expert health committee formed in Karnataka

A committee of health experts was formed in Karnataka tasked with devising an exit strategy for coronavirus lockdown in the state. The expert team has recommended its continuation in "hotspots" along with some relaxations. In its recommendations submitted to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday, it has said schools and colleges should remain shut till May 31 and advocated restrictions on public transport to continue for some more time even as suggesting an odd-even formula for private vehicles.

(With Agency Inputs)

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