The number of deaths due to COVID-19 has been increasing in Hassan. In the last week (since April 26), 90 people have succumbed to the infection in the district. This includes 15 deaths reported on Monday. A majority of them said to have died due to the non-availability of ICU beds.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, as many as 616 people have died in the district. The number of deaths reported since March 23 is 149. On Monday, 1,277 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in the district. With that, the total number of cases rose to 42,313. Among them, 33,598 have recovered and 8,099 are undergoing treatment. Of them, 89 are in the intensive care unit.
Many patients from Bengaluru and other districts have been admitted to hospitals here after they could not find beds in their places. Among the 15 dead on the day, five are from other districts. Of the rest, two each are from Arsikere taluk, three from Hassan taluk, and one each from Belur, Holenarsipur and Sakleshpur taluks.
As all the beds in the intensive care unit a the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences are occupied, the critical patients in general wards are not getting a higher level of treatment. Vijay Kumar, a resident of Hassan, said three of his relatives had been admitted to the hospital. One among them, aged above 70 years, was in critical condition. “We have been trying to get an ICU bed for the last four days. People in the general wards are dying as they have been denied ICU beds”, he said.
