7,385 new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, 102 deaths
Bengaluru: Karnataka on Thursday reported 7,385 new cases of COVID-19 and 102 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 2,56,975 and the death toll to 4,429, the health department said.
The day also saw 6,231 patients getting discharged after recovery. Out of 7,385 fresh cases reported on Thursday, 2,912 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone.
As of August 20 evening, cumulatively 2,56,975 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 4,429 deaths and 1,70,381 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.
It said, out of 82,149 active cases, 81,444 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 705 are in ICU.
According to the bulletin, 25 out of 102 deaths reported today are from Bengaluru urban, followed by Ballari (8), Hassan and Koppal (7), Dakshina Kannada (6), Davangere (5), Belagavi, Haveri, Kalaburagi, Shivamogga, Vijayapura and Yadgir (4), Chikkaballapura, Chikkamagaluru and Uttara Kannada (3), Chamrajanagara, Kodagu, Raichur and Udupi (2), and Gadag, Kolar and Tumakuru (1).
Most of the dead are either with a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI).
Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 2,912, Ballari 483, Belagavi 358, Udupi 351, Mysuru 253, Davangere 245, Kalaburagi 210, followed by others.
Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 99,822 infections, followed by Ballari 16,200 and Mysuru 12,304.
Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with total of 64,022 discharges, followed by Ballari 10,072 and Kalaburagi 7,554.
According to the bulletin, a total of 22,56,862 samples have been tested so far, out of which 59,602 were tested on Thursday alone. Among the samples tested today 25,989 were rapid antigen tests.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
