Karnataka govt to increase 1,800 Covid beds in two hospitals, says Dr K Sudhakar

Amid the surge of coronavirus cases, Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Friday said the state government will provide 1800 Covid beds to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) and Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI).

Addressing media after inspecting BMCRI, KIMS and St John hospitals here, the Minister said around 750 more Covid beds will be provided to Victoria hospital in the city where 400 beds were already added.

"A total of 1800 beds will be made available for Covid treatment in KIMS and BMCRI. As many as 400 beds were provided to Covid patients in Victoria hospital so far. It will be increased to 750 now. The nearby hotel will be made quarantine centre and 200 beds will be available there for Covid patients. Total 950 beds will be managed by BMCRI. 70 ICU beds are available here, we are trying to provide 50-100 more ICU beds within 15 days," the minister said.

He said that KIMS will reserve 500 beds within two to three weeks for Covid-19 patients, while private medical colleges are also arranging 5,000 beds shortly.

"A total of 6,000 beds are available in Bengaluru including hospitals and cCovid care centres. 3,869 of them have been occupied. 2,131 are still available for the patients. It will be increased further in the coming days," Sudhakar added.

Talking about the Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa who again tested positive for COVID-19 infection on Friday, Dr Sudhakar said the Chief Minister's health is stable.

"He has already been administered the vaccine. The Chief Minister will be provide guidance from the hospital itself through video conference. We will act accordingly to control the wave," he said.

The Minister added the state government will discuss the proposal of considering media persons as frontline workers and give them priority during the vaccination process.

Meanwhile, the state government has placed an order for purchasing 70,000 doses of Remdesivir, of which 20,000 doses were supplied today.

"The state government has a stock of 30,000 doses and there are no shortage Remdesivir injections. The government is also examining the request of private hospitals to supply Remdesivir," the CMO said.

The Karnataka government issued new guidelines for functions, events, marriages and religious gatherings. The state government banned religious gathering and restricted the political gathering to 200 people in open space.

The government said social event celebrations will go as per the guidelines issued by the central government, where 200 people in open space and 100 people in closed spaces like marriage halls will be allowed to participate. For cremations and last rites, only 25 people will be allowed to attend if the event is orgsed in a closed space and 50 people in the open space.

Karnataka reported 14,859 new COVID-19 cases, 4,031 discharges and 78 deaths on Friday, With this, the total Covid tally of the state reached 11,24,509, including 1,07,315 active cases.

( With inputs from ANI )