While asking officials to strictly implement the restrictions put in place for day and night between April 21 and May 4, district in-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary on Friday said that the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases forced the State government to announce curfew during the period.
During a meeting to review steps for prevention of the pandemic, Mr. Poojary said that people should avoid unnecessary movement and come out of their houses only if necessary.
Stating that 4,816 beds are available for COVID-19 patients in 66 government and private hospitals, Mr. Poojary said that this included 3,035 general beds, 1,263 oxygen beds, 243 high pressure beds, 135 ICU beds and 140 ventilator ICU beds. He asked officials to ensure sufficient stock of oxygen and other medicine necessary for COVID-19 treatment.
Mr. Poojary said that treatment for serious patients in private hospitals will be covered under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka Scheme and asked hospitals not to charge more than the rate prescribed by the State government. The State government will bear the expenses of the last rites of COVID-19 patients in the event of death. It will be handled by Mangaluru City Corporation and the local bodies.
Member of Parliament and State Bharatiya Janata Party president Nalin Kumar Kateel asked officials to ensure that restrictions do not hamper fishing. Care should be taken to ensure that workers from different parts of the country do not leave the district in distress.
Members of Legislative Assembly D. Vedavyas Kamath, U. Rajesh Naik and Harish Poonja and officials, including Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra, Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Kumar and Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Akshy Sridhar, attended the meeting.
