Induct MLC Pratapchandra Shetty into Karnataka Cabinet; make him Udupi in-charge: Youth Cong

Bengaluru, Aug 6: No private hospital in Karnataka can turn away a patient without attending to him or her, irrespective of the Coronavirus status, an official has said.

"Private medical establishments shall not deny treatment and admission to any patient approaching the establishment irrespective of the fact that such patient may or may not be suffering from Covid-19," an official from the state Health and Family Welfare Department said on Wednesday.

Likewise, no private hospital can insist on a patient for a Covid-19 test report, said the official invoking the Disaster Management Act.

"The establishments also cannot insist for Covid test report," he said, directing all private hospitals to strictly abide by their responsibilities.

According to the department, it is the duty of every private hospital to provide first aid and take lifesaving steps when any patient approaches it.

"It is the duty of every private medical establishment to provide first aid and take lifesaving measures to stabilise the patient," he said.

The department also invoked statutes from Karnataka Medical Establishments Act 2017, under sections 11 and 11 (A) to drive home the message.

The directives assume significance at a time when several cases of private hospitals denying admissions and fleecing patients across the state have emerged.

"It has been noticed that some of the private hospitals are refusing treatment and admission to emergency patients, causing distress and this has resulted in complications, leading to death in certain cases," said the official.

The district authorities have been directed to take action on the erring hospitals as the department reiterated the responsibilities of private medical establishments.

Bengaluru/ Mangaluru, Aug 3: For the first time in many days, if not weeks, the number of recoveries in Karnataka was higher than new covid-19 cases in the state raising hope of some relief against the virus.

Karnataka confirmed 4752 new covid- 19 cases while the number of recoveries stood at 4776 in the 24 hours until 5 pm on Monday. The state also recorded 98 deaths. 

Medical education minister K.Sudhakar said that the recovery rate in Karnataka is at around 42%

"Everyday there is increase in recovery rate which is higher by 9.17% in Bengaluru city. Overall recovery rate of the state by Sunday evening was 42.81 % and it is 35.14% in Bengaluru," the minister posted on Twitter.

The total number of cases in Bengaluru crossed the 60,000 mark including 1497 cases on Monday.

The total number of cases in Mysuru breached 5000 cases as 372 persons tested positive. The mineral-rich district of Ballari recorded 305 cases. Other parts of Karnataka has seen a surge in cases with 15 out of the 30 districts reporting at least a 100 cases.

Dakshina Kananda

Dakshina Kannada district alone has recorded 153 new cases and seven deaths. 
Among the 153 new cases, 119 are from Mangaluru, 11 from Bantwal, six from Beltangady, four from Puttur, one from Sullia, and 12 from other districts.

The total number of covid positive cases in the district mounted to 6,168. Out of these, 3,138 cases are currently active. As many as 2,854 persons have recovered and been discharged, and 176 deaths have occurred so far.

Udupi

Udupi reported 126 fresh cases past 24 hours, according to health bulletin released by the Udupi district administration. They include 58 from Udupi, 34 from Kundapur, 28 from Karkala, and six from other districts. 

A total of 34,500 samples have been collected so far. 29,174 have turned out to be negative. As many as 4,800 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported so far in the district. 

As many as 2,812 patients have been discharged so far, and 1,952 cases are currently active. As per district bulletin, 36 deaths have occurred so far. One positive case has been transferred to Dakshina Kannada.