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Bengaluru, May 27: A 69-year-old woman from Yadgiri became the 45th COVID-19 related fatality in Karnataka, where 122 fresh cases have been reported, taking the total number of infections in the state to 2,405, the health department said on Wednesday.

With 45 deaths and 762 discharges, there are 1,596 active coronavirus cases in the state, the department said in its mid-day bulletin. It said, the deceased woman, a returnee from Maharashtra was brought dead to designated hospital in Yadgiri on May 20 and tested positive for COVID-19.

Fourteen patients have been discharged in the state so far on Wednesday. Of the 122 new cases, 108 are returnees from neighboring Maharashtra, three from Tamil Nadu, and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi. While two are returnees from foreign countries- one each from UAE and Nepal.

Remaining four cases are contact of patients earlier tested positive.

Among the districts where new cases were reported, Kalaburagi accounted for 28, Yadgiri 16, Hassan 15, Bidar 13, Dakshina Kannada 11, Udupi 9, Bengaluru Urban 6, five each from Uttara Kannada and Raichur, Belagavi 4, Chikkamagaluru 3, two each from Bengaluru Rural and Vijayapura, and one each from Ballari, Mandya and Tumakuru.

Mangaluru, Mar 25 : Taking into account surge of COVID-19  cases in neighbouring districts, Dakshina Kannada district administration has decided to suspend retail sales at Central Market in Mangaluru and public will not be allowed to purchase at Central Market from Thursday.

Proper arrangements have been made for the public to buy from nearby grocery shops from 6 am till 12 noon. 
However strict social distancing has to be ensured by the vendors failing which action will be taken, warned Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh. The public are advised to follow social distancing measures.

Bengaluru, Jul 6: A video clip of a Bengaluru-based doctor urging the follow doctors to return to their duty at a time when medicos are desperately needed to fight against COVID-19 has busted the myth of ‘shortage of beds’ in the hospitals. 

In past few of weeks, dozens of people in Bengaluru have lost their lives after hospital denied them admission citing lack of beds. 

Dr Taha Mateen, Managing Director of HBS Hospital, in an emotional message, appealed to healthcare professionals, including doctors, to help handle the situation better. The video has gone viral on social media.

“I speak from the ICU of HBS Hospital. It’s been a virtual bloodbath. I came in the morning at like 7:30 in the morning and its 12’o’clock midnight right now. Patients are continuously calling me now ‘cause their fathers are breathless, their brothers are breathless and they cannot find a room in Bengaluru and at this time if you see there is one Mr Shiva and me. There is no other doctor willing to work in this hospital,” Dr Mateen says in the video.

Dr Mateen further said, "I have beds, I have oxygen beds, I have ventilators, I have all the equipment. I have another 30 beds like this but I don’t have doctors working here.” He said that there is an urgent need to mobilise healthcare staff.

Sources said the COVID-19 patients at the hospital are left with only five doctors and 12 nurses. Until recently, the HBS Hospital had 20 nurses and 44 doctors on its roll.

According to a report, the hospital is facing huge difficulties in treating patients admitted at Intensive Care Units (ICU). Eight patients with severe respiratory problems are admitted to the hospital and are waiting for their COVID-19 test results.

"We have sufficient beds at the hospital to treat coronavirus patients, but we don't have doctors. And we can't admit more patients as we are left with just five doctors, said Dr Taha Mateen.

"All doctors are on WhatsApp, I request all doctors to come out and perform their duties, Dr Mateen said in a video appeal on WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram. 

According to Dr Mateen, a COVID-19 patient, who was admitted to COVID care centre at Haj  Bhavan, was abandoned on a road by an ambulance driver. Later, the patient was picked by NGO volunteers. 

"The patient was brought to HBS Hospital at 2 am. He had a very low blood oxygen level. We stabilised his condition. Later, we had to send him home as we don't have enough staff to take care of him. We also sent an oxygen cylinder to his home," a report quoted Dr Mateen as saying.