Karnataka reported seven more fatalities from COVID-19 on Tuesday, while Andhra Pradesh recorded two deaths and 264 new cases.
In Kerala, 79 new COVID-19 cases and 60 recoveries were reported, keeping active number of cases at 1,366. All except six of the new ones were imported cases of infection, diagnosed in people who came from abroad or other parts of the country.
Six cases of local transmission were reported, one of them a health care worker in Pathanamthitta district.
A total of 2,622 persons had tested positive and 1,234 persons had recovered till date. The State had 1,22,143 persons under surveillance in various districts, of whom, except 1,986 isolated in hospitals with mild symptoms, the rest were on home or institutional quarantine.
Also read: Coronavirus updates | June 16, 2020
On Tuesday, 210 persons were admitted in hospitals.
An official release said 4,003 samples were taken in a 24-hour period until Tuesday. Samples of 1,18,893 persons were tested in all. This was in addition to 32,534 samples tested from high risk or priority groups in the community.
One region in Thiruvananthapuram district newly entered the hotspot list on Tuesday, while 16 regions got dropped from the list.
The daily bulletin in Andhra Pradesh said that of 264 new cases, 193 were of local residents and 44 of migrant workers or people from other States and 27 were foreign returnees.
The State tally rose to 6,720 and 3,513 had recovered, including 128 on Tuesday. There were 3,119 active cases under treatment. The two new deaths occurred in Chittoor and Prakasam districts.
The worst-hit districts of Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur continued to report a large number of new local cases. Kurnool had 56 cases while Krishna reported 34, Guntur 29. Anantapur 28, East Godavari 12, Nellore 11, West Godavari 10, Kadapa five, Chittoor four, Visakhapatnam three and Vizianagaram one case. Prakasam and Srikakulam reported no new cases.
Deaths in Kurnool and Krishna districts alone accounted for 65% of total deaths in the State. While Kurnool recorded 30 death cases, Krishna had 27 cases of the total 88.
Karnataka said asymptomatic positive patients would no longer be admitted to designated hospitals. The State Government would set up COVID-19 Care Centres to monitor and treat asymptomatic infected persons, said Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar on Tuesday.
He told the media that the decision was taken as the number of cases was on the rise in the last two weeks.
“An expert committee has been formed to advise on the type of treatment. The BBMP Commissioner has been directed to ensure that 20,000 beds are available in COVID Care Centres in Bengaluru,” the Minister said.
Calling upon private hospitals to act with responsibility, the Minister warned of strict action against hospitals that refuse to treat COVID patients. With seven deaths, the toll in Karnataka touched 94. The deaths included five from Bengaluru Urban and one each from Ramanagaram and Bidar. The day also saw 317 new cases being added.
(With inputs from Vijayawada & Bengaluru bureaus)
