Karnataka on Friday reported 5,007 new COVID-19 cases and 110 deaths. With this, the total number of cases in the State touched 85,870 and the death toll rose to 1,724. The daily toll, that had crossed 100 last Friday, was hovering around 90 till Thursday.
With 2,037 people discharged on Friday, the total number of recoveries now stands at 31,347. Of the remaining 52,791 active cases, 611 patients are being monitored in the ICU while the condition of the rest is said to be stable. A total of 29,819 tests were conducted in 24 hours, including 7,411 rapid antigen tests.
Meanwhile, continuing the trend of reporting nearly half the total cases in the State, Bengaluru Urban saw 2,267 cases and 50 deaths on Friday. With this, the total number of cases in Bengaluru Urban crossed 40,000 to touch 41,467. The district toll now stands at 833.
The State government has now issued an order capping the price for RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests in private labs. According to the order, while the rate of RT-PCR testing for samples sent by the government for tests in private labs has been reduced from ₹2,250 to ₹2,000, the ceiling rate for private samples in private labs has been reduced from ₹4,500 to ₹3,000. The price includes that of screening and confirmatory tests and the cost of PPE kits.
Likewise, the rate of rapid antigen tests for private samples in private labs has been fixed at ₹700 per sample, inclusive of PPE kit.
Graduates on duty
All graduates, postgraduates and super-specialist students graduating from medical colleges in the State will henceforth be deployed on COVID-19 duty after the completion of their examination. Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar said an order to this effect has been issued by the Director of Medical Education (DME). The heads of institutions have been directed to inform the students to report to the office of the DME after their exam for posting, he said.
