COVID-19 tally in Karnataka breaches 9,000 mark; Bengaluru reports 196 new infections
Bengaluru: As many as 453 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Sunday including 196 in Bengaluru alone, taking the total number of infections in Karnataka to 9,150, the Health Department said.
Five more deaths took the toll due to COVID-19 in the state to 137, a bulletin issued by the department said.
An assistant sub-inspector posted in a traffic police station died due to coronavirus on Saturday night taking the number of policemen succumbing to the contagion to three, police said.
The entire police station has been sealed for sanitisation and 25 people including five primary contacts of the deceased have been quarantined at the designated hospitals.
The total number of COVID-19 cases include 5,618 discharges, 3,391 active cases, 137 deaths, four deaths due to non-COVID causes and 77 patients admitted in Intensive Care Units.
The 196 cases confirmed in Bengaluru today is the highest single-day spike ever since the outbreak of the pandemic. With 64 deaths so far, the city's share in the total fatalities in the state due to COVID is 47 per cent.
The five deaths reported on Sunday included three in Bengaluru.
"Yes. It is a major single day spike in Bengaluru," a health department official told P T I. Of the total cases reported in Bengaluru, 101 are Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and 68 are those whose contact tracing is underway.
Apart from 196 in Bengaluru, 40 cases were reported in Ballari, 39 cases each in Kalaburagi and Vijayapura, 18 each in Mysuru and Gadag, 15 in Dharwad, 14 in Bagalkote, 13 in Bidar, eight each in Davangere, Uttara Kannada and Kolar.
The five deaths reported on Sunday consisted of four men and a woman. In view of the rising cases in Bengaluru, the Chief Secretary on Saturday formed three teams.
According to an order, Principal Secretary in Cooperative department Tushar Girinath will head the team that will ensure shifting the patients from their houses or the institutional quarantine facilities to the designated hospital.
The second team headed by the Karnataka Public Service Commission secretary G Sathyavathi will monitor the containment zone and carry out extensive surveys of people with COVID-19.
The third team is headed by Karnataka State Mineral Development Corporation managing director Naveen Raj Singh and Additional Commissioner of police Hemant Nimbalkar who will ensure social distancing at public places.
These three teams will have senior bureaucrats and top police officers as members.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
K'taka MLAs group photoshoot triggers speculation about leadership change, cabinet rejig
Bengaluru (PTI): A group photoshoot of Karnataka MLAs on Wednesday triggered speculation about a possible leadership change and cabinet reshuffle in the state.
The timing of the group photoshoot gave rise to speculation, as such an exercise is generally held during the end of the Assembly's five years tenure, which is 2028 in this case.
While some, including those in the ruling party and opposition, linked it to the possibility of a CM change in the days ahead, there is also speculation linking it to the much-awaited cabinet reshuffle.
There are also talks within the ruling party circles that Speaker U T Khader arranged the group photoshoot because he is likely to be inducted into the cabinet during the rejig.
Interestingly, when the Speaker announced the group photoshoot in the House on Tuesday and invited MLAs to attend the same, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, addressing the Chair, expressed surprise about its timing.
Trying to take a dig at the ruling party, the opposition BJP posted the group photo on 'X' and asked the Congress, "This is CM Siddaramaiah's outgoing photo shoot, isn't it?"
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka in the Assembly, poking fun at Speaker Khader said, "I have doubts about him (Khader). Usually, group photoshoots are done at the end of five years. I think he feels his tenure as Speaker is ending, so he wants to keep the photo ready before that."
He asked CM Siddaramaiah to tell the House as how longer Khader will be the Speaker.
Siddaramaiah responded by saying Khader will be Speaker until the high command decides.
Ashoka, laughingly, retorted, saying Khader was desiring and dreaming of becoming a minister. Khader responded by saying "No, nothing like that."
Congress MLA Vijayananda Kashappanavar, questioning what's wrong if the photo shoot is held now, told reporters, "Speaker Khader may have expectations to become a minister and he may become a minister....I too have similar expectations for myself."
Amid the ongoing power struggle within the ruling Congress fueled by speculation about a chief minister change, some Congress MLAs have been pushing for a cabinet rejig for some time, with several aspirants openly expressing their wish to be inducted.
Karnataka has a sanctioned strength of 34 ministers, including the chief minister. Two cabinet berths are currently vacant, following the resignation of B Nagendra over allegations of embezzlement at the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation, and the sacking of K N Rajanna on the instructions of the party high command.
The speculation about leadership change has been fuelled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.
