Bangalore news live: Urban district reports 4,384 new Covid-19 cases, 19 deaths

A day ahead of the 10-day "corona curfew" coming in to effect in some district centres of the state, the Karnataka government said on Friday factories, companise and organisations that have night shifts can continue to do so, but employees have to report at the work place before 10 pm.

Ten states including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan have shown a steep rise in daily Covid-19 cases accounting for 83.29 per cent of the new infections, the Union health ministry said. India's daily cases continue to rise, the ministry underlined. A total of 1,31,968 new cases were registered a day, the highest single-day rise recorded so far in the country.

The restrictions and guidelines including negative Covid-19 reports announced by deputy commissioner Rohini Sindhuri were taken down by the Karnataka government on Thursday evening. Amid rumours of another lockdown, the deputy commissioner Mysuru deputy commissioner had announced that negative reports were mandatory to visit tourist places, resorts, clubs, theatres, and convention halls, and an advisory for travellers from Bengaluru

With cases increasing, Karnataka high court chief justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka on Thursday made a personal request to members of the bar to appear through video conferencing in order to avoid congregation in the court premises. “Only 12 working days are there before the [summer] vacation,” the chief justice said. “In fact, other high courts are taking our advice on this system of conducting hearings through video conferencing.” It was also noted that in a number of cases, adjournments were being sought citing that the arguing counsel is in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.

Only 18-20 students will be allowed to sit in a hall for SSLC exams to be held from June 21, said minister for primary and secondary education S Suresh Kumar. The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board will send bundles of question papers accordingly. Kumar was speaking at a meeting with the deputy directors of public instruction and block education officers of Bengaluru North, South and Rural areas on Thursday. While the exams were held without glitches last year during the pandemic, this time there should also be focus on ensuring adequate drinking water, clean toilets, sufficient number of masks and soap, he told the officials.

An association of homestay owners and workers submitted a memorandum to Charulata Somala, Kodagu district deputy commissioner, demanding the reopening of all tourist centers across the district. The DC had ordered the closure of tourist centers across the district from April 3 to 20. Resort and homestay owners say they have been incurring huge losses ever since the natural disaster in 2018. KM Chethan, president of the association, said: “The order has affected the livelihoods of many residents including cab and auto drivers and shopkeepers. If the situation prevails, thousands of families will be affected.”

While the central government has not extended the vaccination drive to those below 45 years of age yet, there have been a few stray incidents of people with comorbidities in the 18-45 years age group getting the shot. For example, some cancer patients and those battling renal failure who are below 45 years have got the vaccine on humanitarian grounds in some hospitals in Bengaluru. “Although rules don’t permit it, we have administered doses to some individuals because their condition was vulnerable,” said a doctor from a government hospital in Bengaluru. “Isn’t it better than wasting the vaccine?”

While some healthcare workers have contracted Covid-19 despite taking two doses of the vaccine — a few have even required hospitalisation — doctors say their condition could have been much worse had it not been for the vaccine. Experts point out that there hasn’t been a single case in the state of a fully vaccinated person contracting a severe form of Covid-19, although stray cases of doctors seeking hospitalisation have raised concerns. For example, the head of a leading private hospital tested positive for Covid even after two doses of the vaccine. The doctor chose to get admitted considering his comorbidities.

Industries in and around Bengaluru are witnessing a second round of exodus of migrant workers amid a massive surge in Covid cases. Construction industry, MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and the domestic workers’ sector are once again headed towards a severe labour shortage. Multiple factors have triggered the latest exodus, a crucial one being the assembly elections in four states and one UT — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Most of the labourers went to their home-states to vote and are now reluctant to return to Karnataka, fearing possible restrictions in the wake of spike in Covid cases. While some went home for the harvest season, others are heading to their native places for the upcoming New Year festivities in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The central government’s order directing Karnataka to stop healthcare (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) from registering for the Covid-19 vaccine has left a section of PG medicos in a huge quandary. The reason, the central directive said, was doses were given to ineligible people, a claim which the state government has denied. However, those who have already registered can take the dose. Many dental and medical college students who had not taken the shot, are now seeking the vaccine as some colleges are making vaccination certificates mandatory to attend classes.

For every fresh Covid-19 case in the past 10 days in Bengaluru, an average of about 9.5 primary and secondary contacts have been traced tested – a low figure – leading to concerns. To counter the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the state technical advisory committee had recommended that at least 20 contacts per patient be tracked and tested. The abysmal statistic was highlighted at a meeting between BBMP officials, health and family welfare department authorities and health minister K Sudhakar on Thursday. Bengaluru Urban has registered a total 27,357 cases in the past 10 days. Of these patients, a total of 1.2 lakh primary contacts and 1.3 lakh secondary (total 2.6 lakh) contacts have been traced.

Karnataka’s daily Covid spike crossed 6,000 mark on Thursday too, with the state recording 6,570 cases and 36 deaths in the past 24 hours. Bengaluru saw 4,422 cases and 22 deaths. With Bengaluru being a hotspot, Mysuru district administration said those travelling from Bengaluru to Mysuru must produce Covid-19 negative reports not older than 72 hours.

The movement of essential commodities and services will be allowed to function during the curfew. Health minister K Sudhakar said, “There will be no trouble for travellers and commuters for inter-district and inter-state travel. The curfew is being imposed for only non-essential services and commercial establishments that remain open beyond 10 pm.” These include hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars. He said the state will embark on a special drive of vaccination, Tikka Utsav, from April 11-14.

The Karnataka government on Thursday night imposed curfew from 10pm to 5am in eight major cities from April 10 to 20. The curfew will be imposed in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Udupi, Manipal, Tumakuru, Kalaburagi and Bidar. The announcement follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video conference with chief ministers to suggest measures to contain the spread of the virus.