Over 440 black fungus cases and 12 deaths in Karnataka: Health Minister K Sudhakar
Bengaluru, May 24: Karnataka has reported 446 mucormycosis or black fungus infections and 12 related fatalities so far, state's Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Monday.
The Centre is supplying 1000 vials of medicine for treatment of mucormycosis, he said, adding 446 people have been affected by this infection, while 433 have been admitted to hospitals and 11 are in home isolation.
"Instruction have been issued to shift them to hospital as well...12 people have died due to this infection so far," Sudhakar said.
The Minister said a committee of experts had been constituted to find the cause of this infection, and as per their report, contaminated water used in the humidifier, excessive use of steroids, unsterilized medical equipment, prolonged use of same mask, tube, beds etc.are the primary source.
It has also suggested stopping renovation work in Covid hospitals, and not allowing outsiders into ICU wards and ensuring hygiene in clinical facilities, he was quoted as saying in a release by his office.
ENT check up has to be carried out after recovering from Covid, he said, adding that on 3rd, 7th and 21st day check up has to be carried out.
Noting that notification has been issued on direct recruitment of 1,763 doctors aimed at strengthening the state's health infrastructure, Sudhakar said 715 experts, 75 general medicine, 57 general surgeons, 145 gynecologists, 40 ENT specialists, 35 dermatologists, 142 anesthesiologists, 153 pediatricians, 17 radiologists are being recruited.
He said 1,048 general medical practitioners are also being recruited.
North Karnataka is facing shortage of doctors and this move will solve this issue, he said. Gadag, Hubballi, Belagavi, Raichur and other districts will be given priority.
Pointing out that the centre has allocated 1,200 MT of Medical oxygen to Karnataka, the Minister said all Covid hospitals have been asked to install CCTV cameras to ensure transparency.
"This will reduce outsiders entry and will help in controlling mucormycosis.This will also ensure that medical staff carry out their duty properly. Central control centre will handle the data of all districts," he said.
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Cong performed better in Kerala, anti-incumbency trends influenced WB, TN: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Congress had largely met or exceeded expectations in several States, even as results in some regions reflected shifting voter sentiments.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said the party accepted the mandate in Assam while performing better than anticipated in Kerala.
He also pointed to possible anti-incumbency trends influencing outcomes in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
“In Assam, we got the expected result, and we accept the people’s mandate. In Kerala, we have won more seats than expected. We anticipated around 76 to 80, but we have gone up to around 95,” Siddaramaiah said.
In West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, there may have been an anti-incumbency trend, and that could have influenced the results, he added.
Siddaramaiah also extended his congratulations to a new political entrant in Tamil Nadu, noting the emergence of a different electoral dynamic in the State.
“I congratulate the new entrant who has achieved success there,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said electoral outcomes in some States had diverged from the party’s internal assessments, reflecting evolving voter expectations.
“We expected a certain trend, but the results have been different. Political reading was wrong in some places,” he said.
“People were looking for change in some States, and that has been reflected in the results,” Shivakumar, who is also the Congress Karnataka unit president, said.
Referring to Kerala, he said the Congress-led alliance had benefited from public sentiment.
“There was already an expectation based on local body elections, and people had shown confidence in us. That has translated into a strong result,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
On Tamil Nadu, he acknowledged that the scale of political shift had come as a surprise.
“We expected to secure around 30 to 40 per cent of the vote share, but such a major shift was not anticipated. It shows that voter expectations were different,” he said.
Shivakumar added that electoral outcomes underscored the need for better political assessment in future.
“We have to understand these changes carefully. Political reading cannot go wrong like this,” he said.
