Centre advises Karnataka to increase testing, contain Covid spread

BENGALURU: The Union Health Ministry has sent out letters to five states, including Karnataka, asking them to follow a five-fold strategy and amp up testing. States that are closely being monitored are Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. The letter instructs states to monitor clusters of new Covid cases and ensure that the spread of infection is contained. The five-fold strategy i.e Test-Track-Treat-Vaccine and Covid Appropriate Behaviour should be followed. Karnataka on Thursday reported 471 cases, and the positivity rate increased to 2.14 per cent. Bengaluru clocked 458 cases, and has 2,776 active cases. As per BBMP Covid-19 War Room data, ten wards are reporting maximum number of cases -- Bellandur (41), Doddanekkundi (15), Varthur (12), Hagadur (11), Kadugodi (9), HSR Layout (7), Begur (7), Hoodi (8), Horamavu (6) and Garudacharpalya (6). The number of clusters is increasing, with a total of seven clusters in the city, a majority of which are from apartments in Mahadevapura area. “Genome samples have to be taken from these clusters on priority basis. The state has been asked to maintain an adequate number of tests and send samples from infected individuals for genome sequencing,” an official from the department said.

1 Jan 1970