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Bengaluru, Jul 4: In a heart-wrenching incident, a 65-year-old coronavirus patient at Hanumath Nagar in South Bengaluru died outside his house waiting for an ambulance on Friday evening. The body was kept on the road for more three hours.

The deceased tested positive for coronavirus on Friday and immediately called an ambulance to reach a hospital. However, according to his family members, as he waited for the ambulance for nearly three hours, he collapsed on the road in front of his house complaining of breathlessness and died.

As the body lay unattended on the road, it began to rain heavily. Soon, videos of the body lying on the road in the heavy rain went viral on social media. 

A senior doctor in charge of the division, however, claimed that the ambulance had arrived in less than half an hour but the patient had died before they reached the spot. 

"The patient had given samples on Thursday at KIMS and tested positive on Friday. BBMP officials informed them that they would reach his house. But the man, fearing that he may be stigmatised in the locality, began walking to the corner of the road and collapsed on the street and died," the officer said. 

Another health official from Basavanagudi limits said: "As the ambulance staff do not transport the dead, they informed the hearse van, which was set to arrive in 30 minutes. But due to the sudden rain and heavy traffic ahead of the curfew hours, they were stranded for almost three hours later." The officials also said the deceased had been suffering from cardiac ailments for almost 10 years. 

Regretting the incident, BBMP officials said they were helpless as was an acute shortage of hearse vans. "We were told that there were 20 deaths today and there are only eight hearse vans available. They had to shift this patient after attending to another mortality and were stuck in traffic. By then, due to the fear of infection, nobody attended to the deceased," the officer explained. 

BBMP commissioner B H Anil Kumar said that such incidents should not recur and ordered an investigation and sought a report. "We will ensure that such incidents do not recur," Kumar said.  

Following outrage on social media, a hearse van was summoned and the body was shifted to the Victoria Hospital mortuary as per the protocol. Police have opened a case of unnatural death.

New Delhi, Jul 16: India’s Covid-19 tally on Thursday jumped to 968,876 after the country reported highest-ever single-day spike in coronavirus cases registering 32,695 new infections in the last 24 hours. According to the government data, India’s Covid-19 death toll stands at 24,915 after 606 fresh fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours.

The number of recovered patients in India stands at 612,814. On Wednesday, the government said that a record 20,572 patients recuperated from Covid-19 disease in the last 24 hours (between Tuesday and Wednesday), taking the country’s recovery rate to 63.24 percent.

While the Covid-19 tally runs in lakhs in states like Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu, other states have been reporting a surge in coronavirus infections. Karnataka has reported over 47,000 coronavirus cases till date but its active cases are more that of Delhi. It has overtaken Gujarat as the fourth worst-hit state in the country. Gujarat’s Covid-19 tally stands at 44,552.

Here’s taking a look at the Covid-19 situation across worst-affected states:

Maharashtra

The state Covid-19 tally jumped to 275,640 on Thursday. As many as 152,613 people have recovered from coronavirus in Maharashtra while 10,928 have died.

Tamil Nadu

With 151,820 coronavirus cases, Tamil Nadu is the state with second-highest coronavirus cases in the country and has witnessed 2,167 coronavirus fatalities. The number of patients who have recovered from coronavirus in the state stands at 102,310.

Delhi

The national capital is the third worst-hit in India with coronavirus cases jumping to 116,993 on Thursday. As many as 95,699 patients have recovered from Covid-19 in the national capital while 3,487 have succumbed to the infection.

Karnataka

The South Indian state has witnessed 47,253 coronavirus cases till date and is now the fourth worst-affected in the country. While 928 have lost their lives to the deadly contagion in the state. Nearly 18,466 patients have recovered from the disease in Karnataka.

Gujarat

Gujarat has seen Covid-19 cases reach 44,552 on Thursday. The state has seen 31,286 people recover from coronavirus while 2,079 people have died.

Uttar Pradesh

The Covid-19 tally in Uttar Pradesh has jumped to 41,383 while the number of recoveries has touched 25,743. The state’s death toll has crossed 1,000.

Telangana

The state’s Covid-19 tally stands at 39,342 coronavirus cases. While 25,999 people have recovered from the disease, the Covid-19 death toll has jumped to 386 in the state.

Andhra Pradesh

The state has reported 35,451 Covid-19 patients till date. While 18,378 people have recovered from the virus across the state, the death toll stands at 452.

West Bengal

As many as 34,427 people have contracted Covid-19 in West Bengal till date. The state has seen 20,680 recover from coronavirus while 1,000 people have been killed.

Rajasthan

The state has reported 26,437 Covid-19 cases till date. Covid-19 death toll in Rajasthan stands at 530 while 19,502 patients have recovered.

Bengaluru, Apr 13: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa today held a review meeting with his cabinet colleagues and senior officials regarding prevailing coronavirus situation and several other important issues in the state.

Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar was also present at the meeting. The possible situation once the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted was discussed along with the financial status of the state government and how to mobilise additional resources, sources said.

The Chief Minister also appealed to sugar factory owners to clear the pending payment to the tune of Rs 2834 crore to farmers in 11 districts. He also said that the government has released Rs 45 crore compensation to farmers for loss of paddy crop in Raichur and Koppal District due to hailstorm based on a report submitted by District Collectors.

Amid the lockdown distribution of free milk to the poor will also be continued for one more week, sources added.

The meeting also decided to speed up disposal of cases related to the regularisation of unauthorised constructions which are pending before the High Court and Supreme Court.

In addition to this, the government is planning to auction more than 12,000 corner sites lying idle in Bengaluru. An amendment to the law governing permission to allow sites in private and co-operative housing societies will be made. Hundreds of societies are waiting for approval from the government for releasing the sites, sources said.

It was also decided to utilise Rs 1,000 crore available at Rajiv Gandhi Health University to upgrade medical college hospitals.