Feb 20: K'taka sees 1,001 COVID cases, 18 deaths
Bengaluru, Feb 20: COVID-19 cases in Karnataka declined from 1,137 cases on Saturday to 1,001 cases on Sunday while 18 deaths took place today. These took the total infected and fatalities till date to 39,36,586 and 39,795, said the State Health Department.
A bulletin said 1,780 people were discharged. The total recoveries were 38,84,120 so far. Active cases stood at 12,634.
Bengaluru urban district reported 485 infections and 12 deaths.
Other districts too had fresh cases: 93 in Tumakuru, 51 in Belagavi, 48 in Mysuru, 46 in Ballari and 42 in Kodagu.
There were deaths in six districts, including the two in Dharwad.
There were zero fatalities in 25 districts.
The test positivity rate for the day was 1.42 per cent and the case fatality rate was 1.79 per cent.
As many as 70,290 tests were conducted and they included 53,503 RT-PCR tests. This took the total tests so far to 6.40 crore.
There were 19,998 people who got inoculated and the number of those vaccinated so far was 9.96 crore, the department said.
To view today's health bulletin: CLICK HERE
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.
Karnataka proposes to hike beer prices again; Second increase in four months
Bengaluru: Just days after raising diesel tax, power tariff, and milk prices, the Karnataka government has now proposed a hike in beer prices—the second time in four months.
The state government, in a draft notification, has proposed to increase the Additional Excise Duty (AED) on beer by 10 percent and this could lead to an increase in beer prices by up to Rs 50 per bottle, Deccan Herald quoted its sources as saying.
It has also decided to do away with a fixed Rs 130 excise duty for lower-end beers and going forward, 205 percent AED will apply to all beer brands.
“Beer prices in most of our neighbouring states are higher than ours. Hence, there was some potential to increase the revenue by increasing the prices,” DH quoted an official as saying.
However, the official noted that the government is unlikely to raise beer prices again in the near future, given the recent back-to-back hikes.
While the exact price hike will vary by brand, sellers believe it could lead to a drop in sales. According to a brewery owner from North Bengaluru, sales have already declined significantly due to the previous price hike. While beer sales are typically high during the summer, this year has seen a noticeable drop.
The excise department issued the draft notification on Tuesday, giving citizens seven days to file their objections.
_vb_85.jpeg)