For first time in four months, fresh COVID-19 cases cross 1,700 in Karnataka

Continuing the upward trend in new cases, Karnataka on Saturday reported 1,798 new cases of COVID-19, taking the total number of cases to 9,68,487. Of these, 1,186 cases were from Bengaluru Urban alone.

The State is recording over 1,700 cases after a gap of four months, after witnessing 1,781 cases on November 20 last year. With seven deaths, the toll rose to 12,432. This is apart from 19 deaths of COVID-19 patients due to other reasons.

As many as 1,030 persons were discharged on Saturday, taking the total recoveries to 9,43,208. Of the remaining 12,828 active patients, 134 were being monitored in ICUs. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 1.91%, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) touched 0.38%. As many as 94,043 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, including 88,029 RT-PCR tests. With this, the total number of tests rose to 2,02,87,369.

As many as 10,08,874 senior citizens have been vaccinated in the State since March 1, when the second phase of vaccination was rolled out. That apart, 2,54,423 persons above the age of 45 with comorbidities have been vaccinated so far.

On Saturday, 50,880 senior citizens and 15,314 people above 45 years with comorbidities took the jab. Cumulatively, Bengaluru Urban has recorded the highest numbers — 2,34,199 and 42,677, respectively.

So far, 5,15,683 healthcare workers and 1,94,526 frontline workers have taken the first dose of vaccination. As many as 3,13,631 healthcare workers have taken the second dose.

Services extended

Meanwhile, in the wake of a steep rise in cases, the State government has extended the services of doctors, nurses, and paramedical and other staff who were hired on contract basis/outsourced last year. According to a Government Order issued on Saturday, their services have been extended from April 1 till September 30.

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