New Quarantine Order for those coming from Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu: BS Yediyurappa

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s COVID-19 mortality rate is better than the national average, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said on Monday, expressing confidence on the way his government has been handling the coronavirus pandemic.

He also announced that people coming from Chennai and Delhi will have to undergo mandatory three-day institutional and 11-day home quarantine. “The state mortality rate is 1.2% against a national average of 2.8%. The state recovery rate is 56.5% against a national average of 51%,” he said. Karnataka has total 71 labs that are testing for Covid-19 which includes 41 state-run facilities, he said. 4,40,674 tests have been conducted so far in the state, he added.

He pointed out that the bulk of people who have tested positive came from other states. “Of the 7,000 positive cases (in the state), over 4300 have come from Maharashtra,” he said. “Now people from Delhi and Chennai coming to Karnataka have to have 3 days institutional and 11 days home quarantine. Maharashtra arrivals already have 7 day institutional and 7-day home quarantine,” he added, marking a change in the state’s quarantine rules.

Meanwhile, K Sudhakar, the minister of health education, who met the Chief Minister and other Karnataka ministers to discuss the COVID-19 strategy on Monday, said that private hospitals will be roped in to treat patients and rates will be fixed for everything. The private hospitals that will treat COVID-19 patients…for them rates will be fixed, it will be uniform across the state.

Maybe there will be some variation for Bengaluru, but for the entire state, a uniform rate structure will be fixed,” Mr Sudhakar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. “Efforts are on in this direction and instructions will soon be issued in this regard by the government. The government alone cannot provide treatment. Private and government sectors both will have to join hands and make efforts to control coronavirus,” he added.