Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: With Covid cases increasing drastically in Kerala, the health department in Karnataka has started preparations to tackle any surge in the cases here. While precautionary measures are being put in place, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the situation was under control in the state and people need not panic.
“There is nothing to worry about as of now. However, I have asked the officials to conduct mock drills at all the government hospitals to ensure we have enough supply of oxygen cylinders, consumables, and medicines. Our officials will identify any deficiencies in the system and ensure that we are prepared to handle any surge in Covid cases,” he said.
He added that it was too early to close borders with Kerala and mandate testing of all the travellers. For now, the department has decided to ramp up testing of people with Covid symptoms along with ILI and SARI patients. Going ahead, all the SARI cases and one in 20 ILI cases will be tested for Covid. All Covid cases with a CT value higher than 25 will mandatorily be sent for genome sequencing.
“We have asked the officials to procure more RT-PCR kits. We will increase testing and keep a watch on the number of cases reported. Based on this data, we will take further action,” Rao said. Rao has also called a meeting with the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Tuesday to determine the precautionary measures to be put in place.
Over the last few days, the number of Covid cases in the state has increased marginally. However, no deaths have been reported in the last two months, except for one death that was reported on Friday. “The patient had multiple comorbidities and Covid was an incidental finding,” the officials from the Health Department said. At present, there are 58 active Covid cases across the state. While 47 are under home isolation, five are admitted to general wards and six of them are being treated in ICUs.