Health and Family Welfare Minister B. Sriramulu on Saturday said that 1.1 lakh people in the State, including 75,000 in Bengaluru alone, have been screened so far for COVID-19 and samples of 731 people who had developed symptoms were examined, of which six were tested positive.
Addressing a press conference here after holding a meeting of key officers, he said, “Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has given me a free hand to tackle the situation. Health and Family Welfare Department is working on a war footing. People need not panic.”
The Minister confirmed that three of the four people who had had direct contact with India’s first COVID-19 victim (in Kalaburagi) and who were kept in quarantine wards, have tested negative.
“The result of one more patient is awaited. There are 16 people who have returned from abroad in Kalaburagi district and all of them have been kept in home isolation,” he added. When asked, Mr. Sriramulu said a COVID-19 testing facility would be ready in Kalaburagi within three days.
“We have a shortfall of around 2,000 doctors in public healthcare facilities and all the posts will be shortly,” he said.
