E-Paper
All 30 districts in state record deaths as Covid rages on
Bengaluru All 30 districts of Karnataka reported at least one Covid-19 fatality in the 24 hours on Thursday, government data shows, indicating the severity of the second wave of infections in the southern state
Bengaluru
All 30 districts of Karnataka reported at least one Covid-19 fatality in the 24 hours on Thursday, government data shows, indicating the severity of the second wave of infections in the southern state.
Out of the 373 fatalities, 121 were in Bengaluru, according to the daily bulletin of the state health department.
The mineral-rich district of Ballari, about 320 kms from Bengaluru, reported 26 fatalities while there were 21 in Kalaburagi, 20 in Hassan, 19 in Tumakuru, 15 in Uttara Kannada, 13 each in Ramanagara and Mandya, 12 each in Mysuru and Bengaluru Rural, according to the data.
The fatality rate was at 0.89%.
The rise in deaths comes at a time when the Covid- 19 infections appear to be moving towards the rural areas of Karnataka, sparking fears of a collapse of the health care system, which is far more inadequate than in Bengaluru.
Karnataka registered 41,779 new infections that take its active caseload to 598,605, one of the highest in India. Positivity rate stood at 32.86%, according to the bulletin.
Bengaluru recorded 14,316 new infections that take its active caseload to 360,862.
The BS Yediyurappa government has been unable to cope with the rising demand for hospital beds, oxygen, life-saving medicines and even space in crematoriums.
The state has also suspended its vaccination drive for people in the 18-44 age group due to acute shortage of vaccines.
However, the state received Covaxin doses on Friday.
“Karnataka received 75,000 doses of Covaxin from Union Govt today. So far state has received 1,10,49,470 doses from GoI incl 99,58,190 doses of Covishield and 10,91,280 doses of Covaxin. I thank PM@narendramodi ji and @drharshvardhan ji for their continued support to Karnataka,” K Sudhakar, Karnataka’s minister for health, family welfare and medical education, said in a post on Twitter.
The supply is unlikely to last for long even at the slow pace of vaccinations in Karnataka.
There were 56,350 vaccinations done till 3.30 pm on Friday that take the total to 11,051,982, according to the health bulletin. However, 2,396,806 people have received both doses, data shows.
The state government said that the second dose for Covishield has been extended to a gap of 12-16 weeks after the first dose.
“Government of India has informed that based on the recommendation of National Technical Advisory Group of Immunization (NTAGI) and National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration (NEGVAC), the second dose of Covishield vaccine should be administered to eligible beneficiaries at 12 to 16 weeks interval after receiving the first dose,” the state government said in a statement.
“Citizens are requested not to come to vaccination centres if they have not completed 12 weeks after the first dose of Covishield vaccine,” according to the statement.
The same is not applicable to Covaxin, the government said.
