7,571 new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, total infections breach 1 lakh mark in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Karnataka on Friday reported 7,571 new cases of COVID-19 and 93 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 2,64,546 and death toll to 4,522, the health department said.
The total number of positive cases in Bengaluru urban breached 1 lakh mark today, with the city reporting 2,948 fresh cases.
The day also saw 6,561 patients getting discharged after recovery.
As of August 21 evening, cumulatively 2,64,546 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which include 4,522 deaths and 1,76,942 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.
It said, out of 83,066 active cases, 82,368 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 698 are in ICU.
According to the bulletin, 22 out of 93 deaths reported on Friday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by Ballari (9), Belagavi, Davangere and Kalaburagi (7), Dakshina Kannada and Koppala (5);
Bidar, Haveri and Vijayapura (4), Dharwad, Raichur and Tumakuru (3), Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu and Kolar (2), and Gadag and Mandya (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 2,948, Ballari 540, Belagavi 384, Udupi 278, Yadgir 255, Dharwad 252, Davangere 237, Koppal 234, Shivamogga 227, followed by others.
Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 1,02,770 infections, followed by Ballari 16,740 and Mysuru 12,304.
Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with total of 66,602 discharges, followed by Ballari 10,476 and Kalaburagi 7,715.
According to the bulletin, a total of 23,14,485 samples have been tested so far, of which 57,623 were tested on Friday alone.
Among the samples tested today 22,992 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.
