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Bengaluru, Jul 5: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has asked officials to ensure that all necessary arrangements for COVID-19 patients must be carried out efficiently and transparently, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.

"Karnataka is in a better position due to the efforts and hard work of ministers, doctors, officials and all staff. The cases have increased in Bengaluru and some other districts in last few days due to various reasons. We all have to work hard and contain the spread of virus," Dr Sudhakar told media on Saturday.

"Responsibilities related to policy formulation, preparation of guidelines, communication to media and management of war room have been assigned to me. Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan has been given the responsibility of managing COVID-19 care centres and Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Chief Minister's political secretary Vishvanath have been given the responsibility of managing private hospitals. The Chief Minister has instructed all of us to work in synergy," he said.

Dr Sudhakar said the matter of imposing lockdown in the state again was discussed in the task force meeting. "I and Deputy Chief Minister suggested that lockdown is not necessary at this stage. The Chief Minister will take a decision on this matter," he added.

Home Minister Basavar Bommai, Health Minister B Sriramulu, Revenue Minister R Ashoka and senior officials were present in the task force meeting.

Bengaluru, Jul 21: The total number of Covid-19 cases in Karnataka breached the 70,000 mark on Tuesday as the state reported 3,649 fresh infections, while 61 fatalities took the death toll to 1,464, the health department said.

The day also saw 1,664 patients getting discharged after recovery. Out of 3,649 fresh cases reported on Tuesday, a whopping 1,714 were from Bengaluru urban alone. As of July 21 evening, cumulatively 71,069 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, which includes 1,464 deaths and 25,459 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said that out of the 44,140 active cases, 43,557 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 583 are in Intensive Care Units.

Twenty-two out of 61 deaths reported on Tuesday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by five each from Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru and Dharwad, four each from Kolar and Belagavi, three each from Hassan, Tumakuru and Haveri, Bidar 2, and one each from Chikkaballapura, Chikkamagaluru, Chamarajanagara, Gadag and Vijayapura.

Most of the deceased either had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI). Out of 3,649 cases tested positive on Tuesday, contacts of the large number of the cases are still under tracing.

Among the districts where new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 1,714, Ballari 193, Dakshina Kannada 149, Mysuru 135, Yadgir 117, Uttara Kannada 109, Hassan 107, Kolar 103, followed by others.

Bengaluru urban district topped the list of positive cases, with 34,943 infections, followed by Dakshina Kannada 3,829 and Kalaburagi 2,966. Among discharges Bengaluru urban was on top with 7,476 discharges, followed by Kalabuagi 1,834 and Udupi 1,731.

A total of 10,64,734 samples were tested so far, out of which 43,904 were tested on Tuesday alone, the bulletin said. It said that 19,328 of the 43,904 samples tested today were rapid antigen tests.

Hubballi, Apr 20: Dejected over failure to get alcohol for almost one month, a forty-five year old man and his sister died after consuming hand sanitizer in Kalghatgi taluk of Dharwad district on Sunday.

The deceased persons, identified as Basavaraj Venkappa Kuruvinkoppa and Jambavva Kattimani (50) of little hamlet Gambyapur, died at Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS).

The wife of the deceased person has lodged a complaint at Kalghatgi police station stating that her husband had been addicted to alcohol since the last 10-12 years.

Basavaraj and his sister have reportedly consumed hand sanitizer several times since the last 2-3 days, severely deteriorating their health as they felt it is replacement for liquor and has high levels of spirit content.

They were admitted to KIMS only by Sunday early morning after complaining of serious pain in the stomach. The KIMS director Dr Ramalingappa Anthartani said that the deceased appears to have consumed too much sanitizer and the doctors couldn't save their life as they approached the hospital very late.

He also claimed that he is awaiting the postmortem report to know how much quantity of hand sanitizer the deceased had consumed.

"Condition of the patients was very critical when they were admitted to KIMS hospital. It seems that they had drunk too much hand sanitizer for non-availability of liquor. Consumption of hand sanitizer could prove fatal as it has high chemical contents" KIMS director Dr Ramalingappa Anthartani said

The Karnataka government has prohibited the sale of liquor ever since the Centre declared lockdown to control the spread of Coronavirus. This has prompted the alcohol addicts to buy liquor by paying hefty prices in the black market.

But, many poor people in villages have started consuming cheaper hooch and this trade has recently flourished in the rural areas.

Hooch trade has also prompted officials of the excise department to conduct raids in several villages of North Karnataka region. The many theft cases of liquor shops are reported in Karnataka as drunkards have become desperate to get alcohol.

The Karnataka government was planning to allow the sale of liquor after the end of the first phase of lockdown. But, the rising cases of Corona positive cases has prompted it to extend the ban on liquor sale until May 3.