Out of the 138 deaths reported on Thursday, Mysuru (22) stood first followed by Dakshina Kannada (15), Bengaluru Urban (14), Ballari and Dharwad (10 each) and Hassan (9) etc.
Karnataka reported 3,979 new cases of COVID-19 and 138 deaths Thursday, taking the total number of infections to 28.23 lakh and the toll to 34,425.
The day also saw 9,768 recoveries, an indicator that the infection curve is going down. Out of 3,979 new cases, 969 were from Bengaluru Urban. The active caseload is down to 1,10,523. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 2.46 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 3.46 per cent.
Out of the 138 deaths reported on Thursday, Mysuru (22) stood first followed by Dakshina Kannada (15), Bengaluru Urban (14), Ballari and Dharwad (10 each) and Hassan (9) etc.
As of Thursday, the top three districts in the state in terms of cumulative infections are Bengaluru Urban (12 lakh), Mysuru (1.64 lakh) and Tumakuru (1.14 lakh). A total of 3.33 crore samples have been tested in the state so far, out of which 1,61,287 were tested on Thursday alone.
College students, teaching & non-teaching staff in vaccination priority group
With the state government considering opening higher educational institutions for offline classes, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwathnarayan Thursday said all college students above 18 years, their teaching staff and non-teaching staff will be considered as a priority group to administer COVID vaccine. The minister, who also holds the higher education portfolio, said vaccination for the above groups would be taken up in July in the respective colleges as per the guidelines of the Centre.
“Inoculation campaigns will be arranged in the colleges. Validation letters issued by the respective institutions need to be submitted before getting vaccinated. Head of the institution and another officer will be appointed as nodal officers in every institution,” a release quoted him.
He said offline classes will begin once all students are vaccinated with the first dose. “Teaching, learning process has not stopped and it is being continued through digital mode and attendance is mandatory for online classes also,” he said.
‘Vaccination only way to keep Covid-19 away’
Vaccination is the only way to keep Covid-19 away, said health and medical education minister Dr K Sudhakar. He said the state government is determined to provide both the doses of Covid vaccine for all by the end of the year.
Speaking to reporters after flagging off a special vaccination drive at State Bar Council, Dr Sudhakar said, “If we want to be mask-free, then everyone should be vaccinated at the earliest.”
He claimed that the mortality rate in the second wave of the pandemic was controlled as a result of the government’s stringent measures even though the surge in case went beyond expectations. “We have increased the health infrastructure. Backlog vacancies of 1,760 medical officers have been filled which were due from last 25 years. We are strengthening the health sector at district level to tackle third wave based on the recommendations of the committee headed by Dr Devi Shetty,” the minister said.
“Some people are spreading rumours about vaccine on social media. People tend to believe such information. I urge people to trust only authenticated information from government sources. As in the case of small pox, people took many years to trust the vaccine. Hepatitis-B vaccine took 20 years to arrive in India. But we are fast enough to invent vaccine for Covid-19. We should be proud enough that it has been invented in our country. This is very effective and everyone should get it,” he said.
“Foreign vaccines are expensive but PM Narendra Modi is providing the indigenous vaccine free of cost to everyone. People should be informed scientifically and positively about the vaccine. Government has taken steps to vaccinate 1 lakh lawyers and their families. It is given on priority to professionals who are in contact with more number of people.”
(With PTI inputs)
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