7,665 new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, 139 deaths
Bengaluru: Karnataka on Tuesday reported 7,665 new cases of COVID-19 and 139 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 2,40,948 and death toll to 4,201, the health department said.
The day also saw recoveries overtaking the number of new positive cases, with 8,387 patients getting discharged.
Of the fresh cases reported today, 2,242 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone.
As of August 18 evening, cumulatively 2,40,948 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which include 4,201 deaths and 1,56,949 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.
Of 79,782 active cases, 79,085 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 697 are in ICU.
The bulletin said 49 out of 139 deaths reported on Tuesday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by Dharwad (10), Ballari and Dakshina Kannada (9), Bidar (8), Belagavi and Hassan (7), Mysuru (6), Raichur and Tumkur (4);
Bengaluru Rural, Haveri, Shivamogga, Vijayapura and Yadgir (3), Gadag, Kalaburagi and Mandya (2), and Bagalkote, Chamarajanagara, Davangere, Koppal and Uttara Kannada (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 2,242, Ballari 673, Udupi 421, Belagavi 395, Mysuru 357, Davangere 332, followed by other districts.
Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 94,106 infections, followed by Ballari 15,180 and Mysuru 11,489.
Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with total of 59,492 discharges, followed by Ballari 9,054 and Kalaburagi 7,131.
A total of 21,34,174 samples were tested so far, of which 59,088 were tested on Tuesday alone.
Among the samples tested today 28,867 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.
