To ensure the current decreasing trend of COVID-19 cases in the State is maintained, the State Health Department has set up a COVID helpline. People can call the existing Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) helpline - 18004258330 - for general COVID-related queries.
In an advisory issued on Wednesday, Health Commissioner Randeep D. said all elderly individuals (above 60 years), those with comorbidities, pregnant women, and lactating mothers should protect themselves and take all necessary precautionary measures to keep respiratory illnesses and COVID at bay during this season. All the elderly with ILI symptoms should be mandatorily tested for COVID.
All patients under home isolation should be monitored regularly by medical officers and staff of jurisdictional PHC/UPHC/Namma Clinic and Chief Health Officer (CHO) at sub-centre level, the Commissioner said.
Pointing out that comorbid asymptomatic persons staying with COVID positive persons should be considered as ‘high-risk group’, he said they should be clinically evaluated for their comorbid conditions and suitably managed.
Besides, the State Death Audit Committee should audit COVID deaths regularly and submit the audit reports with necessary recommendations to the Health Commissionerate. “As a norm, there should not be a lag of more than five unaudited COVID deaths at any point of time,” he said.
Following recommendations by the COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), the Commissioner directed prison authorities to ensure persons staying in prisons follow Covid Appropriate Behavior (CAB) and respiratory etiquette. .
State reports 87 new cases and one death
The State on Wednesday reported 87 new cases and one death. An 85-year-old male patient from Mysuru, who was diagnosed with SARI, died at a private hospital on January 12.
With this, the total number of deaths since December 15 touched 31. With 165 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the number of active cases reduced to 672. Of these, 30 are being treated in hospitals including five in ICUs and three on ventilators. As many as 7,589 tests were done in the last 24 hours.
