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Bengaluru, Mar 19: As a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf has issued an advisory to mosques, dargahs and other religious institutions, requesting them to conclude the Friday congregation in 15 minutes for the next three weeks.

"Respected head of masjids and imams (prayer leader) are requested to conclude the entire Juma congregation (including Juma khutbah, salah and dua) in 15 minutes for the next three weeks and avoid using the public mic for the khutbah and salah," read a statement from the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf.

It has advised to ensure cleanliness and good hygiene inside mosques and keep the carpets, prayer mats, floor mats etc clean.

Further, it stated that those coming for daily prayers should be instructed to perform wudhu (ablution) at their homes and avoid using prayer caps placed in masjids.

"Please remove the public towels and prayer caps from the masjids. Sunnah and nafil prayers should observed at home," the advisory read.

The advisory came as the number of coronavirus patients spiralled across the country. The governments are taking all precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus that has claimed more than 7,500 lives across the globe since its outbreak in China in December last year.

Bengaluru, July 25: A 105-year-old person from Bengaluru’s Basaveshwar Nagar, who was under treatment for covid-19 at a hospital for past five days, breathed his last today. He was a former government account who retired in 1973. He was the oldest known covid-19 patient in the state so far.

Many members of the patient's family are said to be infected and are hospitalised at various facilities. The funeral will be overseen by two uninfected family members.

The patient 74411 died on Saturday morning at around 9 a.m., said Dr Prasanna, Managing Director of Pristine Hospital And Research Centre where the former was admitted.

“The patient was initially doing well when he admitted on July 20. He did not have significant lung changes when he was admitted. However, after three days, his blood pressure started to drop so he was put on oxygen in the ICU. Yesterday morning, with continued deterioration, he was placed on non-invasive ventilator support,” Dr Prasanna said.

“Finally, by last night, his oxygen saturation levels began to plummet abruptly and we had to intubate him for ventilator support. His condition continued to deteriorate, however. The cause of death was respiratory failure and the onset of sepsis,” he added.

Although earmarked for supplies of Remdesivir by the government, the hospital did not receive the drugs. An appeal to Dr K Sudhakar, Minister of Medical Education by the hospital staff resulted in an assurance that the medication would arrive. “However, in the end, we had to source the medication ourselves on Friday,” medical staff said.

Dr Thrilok Chandra, Head, Critical Care Support Unit (CCSU), which oversees the care of critical or vulnerable-aged Covid-19 patients, had said that Patient 74411 had been diagnosed early. “He was identified when the disease was still in the early stages in his body. He only had symptoms of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), so the symptoms were not severe,” Dr Chandra had said.

“It’s very sad. We were rooting for him to pull through. He had no comorbidities at all. He had been bed-ridden from last year, but he was healthy. His only potential comorbidity was his advanced age,” Dr Prasanna said.

According to government data, 34% of Covid-19 fatalities in India are aged between 60 and 74 years of age. Fourteen per cent are aged above 74.

Mangaluru, Apr 17: Authorities in Dakshina Kannada have announced a fresh coronavirus positive case. The patient is a resident of Uppinangady in Puttur taluk.

With this the total number of covid-19 positive cases in this coastal district mounted to 13 even though most of the patients have recovered and returned home after treatment.

In past twelve days this is the first coronavirus case reported in the district.

It is learnt that the 39-year-old had been to Delhi. He was home quarantined for past few days. His throat swabs were tested positive for the deadly disease today.