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Karnataka extends lockdown till June 7, to treat Black Fungus cases free of cost
The other districts of Karnataka, which are on high alert after indications that the surge will now move towards rural areas, has also seen a spike in infections and fatalities.
Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday said that the lockdown in Karnataka will be extended by 14 days and will now end at 6 am on June 7.
“Coronavirus (Covid-19) is spreading across the state and to control it there are strict restrictions that are in force till May 24. Due to these restrictions and the cooperation of the people towards the decisions of the government, the spread of the virus is coming under control day-by-day. After reviewing the opinions of experts, these strict restrictions have been extended by 14 days from 24 May till 6 am on June 7,” Yediyurappa said on Friday, after almost an hour-long meeting with cabinet ministers and other senior officials.
Yediyurappa said that the provisions of the existing lockdown-like restrictions, including opening of essential shops and services from 6 am to 10 am, will remain in place.
The extension of the existing lockdown comes at a time when Karnataka has seen some stabilizing of its daily Covid-19 infections in the 30,000 range, according to government data.
Karnataka reported 32,218 new infections in the last 24 hours on Thursday. It also reported 52,581 recoveries which has brought down the active caseload to 514,238, according to the health bulletin. The positivity rate continued to remain high at 24.22%. The state recorded 353 more deaths as the fatality rate remained at 1.09%.
Bengaluru recorded 9591 new infections and accounted for 129 fatalities.
The other districts of Karnataka, which are on high alert after indications that the surge will now move towards rural areas, has also seen a spike in infections and fatalities. Ballari, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Uttara Kannada and Mysuru are among the worst hit, recording 23, 20, 16, 22 and 12 deaths respectively.
Yediyurappa had also announced a ₹1250 crore financial package, mostly targeted at unorganised workers, two days ago in lieu of the imminent extension of the lockdown, Hindustan Times had reported.
“Lockdown is successful only if aggressive containment (testing, isolation & tracking) is done simultaneously. Both measures hand-in-hand could have a reasonable effect on flattening the epidemic curve,” Giridhara R Babu, epidemiologist and professor at the Public Health Foundation of India and member of Karnataka’s technical advisory committee (TAC) said in a post on Twitter.
Yediyurappa also said that his administration had decided that free treatment would be provided for those infected with Mucormycosis, more commonly known as black fungus, in government hospitals.
There are at least 97 cases of people infected with black fungus reported in Karnataka, according to official estimates.
