Udupi, Jun 1: As many as 73 people have been tested positive for coronavirus in Udupi district today.
The district has registered a total of 260 positive cases so far. Majority of the positive cases in Udupi district have inter-state travel history to Maharashtra.
Bengaluru, Apr 29: As many as 11 more people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours in Karnataka, said the State's Health Department on Wednesday.
According to an official statement, 11 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported from 5 pm on April 28 to 5 pm on April 29.
"With this, the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the state has mounted to 534, of which 20 deaths have been reported and 215 people have recovered," added the statement.
Of 20 coronavirus patients who died, one death was due to the non-COVID cause, the statement further said.
Bengaluru, May 28: The Karnataka government has done away with previously mandatory COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic international travellers.
The development comes a day after the government issued a circular, which allowed placing of international travellers into home quarantine if they had completed seven days of institutional quarantine.
A circular signed by Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary to the State Government, dated May 27, says that any “person who has completed seven days of institutional quarantine and is asymptomatic can be permitted for home quarantine with a COVID-19 test (RT-PCR), subject to undergoing a medical check-up.”
This check-up equates to thermal screening (with a required temperature of under 37.5C or 99.5F and pulse oximetry of under 94%).
The circular added that all elderly people, over the age of 60, and those with comorbidities (such as Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, asthma, heart ailment, renal disease...etc) are “required to be clinically evaluated diligently prior to shifting them for quarantine.”
On Wednesday, Pankaj Pandey, Commissioner, the Department of Health and Family Welfare said that these new guidelines were based on recommendations from the COVID Task Force. A member of the COVID Task Force said that new strategies had been formulated based on the latest findings on how the SARS-Cov-2 virus affects people.
Bengaluru, Aug 7: Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, the state's health department issued fresh guidelines for the disposal of bodies of COVID patients.
"Although an increased risk of COVID infection from a dead body to health workers or family members who follow standard precautions while handling the body is unlikely, the lack of scientific data requires the utmost care to avoid the inadvertent spread of COVID-19 during these times," the statement from the health department's press release read, emphasising on the dignity of the dead and the religious and cultural tradition.
The 23-page press release elaborated on guidelines regarding testing, handling of dead bodies and other specificities in relation to the management of COVID-19 bodies.
"Testing should not be insisted in every case of death, but only when they have a recorded history of influenza-like symptoms. The body should be handed over to the family members/ relatives in a dignified manner immediately after swab collection and hospitals should provide handouts with a list of dos and don'ts in English and Kannada laying down relevant information," the statement said.
It added, "At the mortuary, health care workers, mortuary staff and the family of the deceased body shall not come in direct contact with the dead body and must wear full personal protective equipment (PPE). If the family or relative are for any reason unable to cremate or bury the body, the local health authority shall arrange for the dignified last rites as per the religious traditions of the family."
Regarding autopsies (post mortem) on COVID-19 bodies, the state department said that they should be avoided, except in necessary circumstances.
The statement also gave detailed guidelines regarding the appropriate recording of COVID-19 deaths in line with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines.
Additionally, the health department made a statement about the admission procedure for COVID positive patients referred by other district administrations saying, "It is now mandatory for all the referrals from the BBMP admission and discharge of COVID positive patients to be done through the online COVID Hospital Bed Management System (CHBMS)."
The state's count of coronavirus cases was 1,51,449 in the past 24 hours.
So far, a total of 2,804 people have died due to COVID-19 in the state, while the average recovery rate in Karnataka is 49.3 per cent.
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