A total of 30 new coronavirus positive cases were confirmed in Karnataka on Thursday taking the total tally to 565, total death to 21 and about 229 discharges.

As per the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department’s bulletin, Of the remaining 314 cases, 305 positive case patients are at designated hospitals, condition stable and nine are in ICU.

30 new cases are spread across: Hirebagewadi (Belagavi) – 11 cases, Bengaluru Urban – 10 cases, Hukkeri (Belagavi) - 3 cases, Vijayapura – 2 cases and Kalaburgi, Davangere, Tumkuru, Dakshina Kannada -1 case each.

Central team

A central team of doctors deputed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare concluded their Karnataka visit on Thursday. The agenda of the team was to assess the State’s Covid-19 response and provide required assistance. The team visited health facilities and institutions across the state, interacting with local and state health officials in the districts of Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Chikkaballapura, Hassan and Dakshina Kannada.

The central team held discussions on the State’s preparedness on Covid-19 and reviewed the establishment of a designated structure of institutions to serve Covid-19 patients through fever clinics, exclusive Covid care centres and swab collection facilities at taluk and district levels.

“The team was also apprised on the measures put in place to strengthen universal surveillance using available databases on TB, HIV patients and other vulnerable patients. The team was informed that the per day testing capacity was being increased successfully, and that technology, along with the involvement of private health facilities was being effectively used to increase outreach,” said Jawaid Akthar, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare.

“In Bengaluru, the team visited health facilities including fever clinics and the designated Covid-19 Victoria Hospital. The team also visited institutions such as NIMHANS, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases and the National Institute of Virology, Bengaluru. They were updated on various innovations of the Government of Karnataka to strengthen health systems and surveillance, including the Critical Care Support Team and tele-ICU unit, the BBMP War Room and the Media Bulletin Room. During their travel to other districts, the central team visited fever clinics, quarantine and isolation wards of district and taluk-hospitals, as well as microbiology labs,” said Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Commissioner, Department of Health and Family Welfare.