Bengaluru, Jan 15: In the wake of the COVID-19 situation in the State, the Karnataka government on Saturday said only the sick and patients requiring emergency care may visit the hospitals for the next two weeks to prevent crowding.

The government has asked all the other patients with mild illness requiring outpatient or follow-up care not to visit hospitals till then or till further orders.

"In pursuant to the existing COVID-19 situation, it is hereby informed that only sick and patients requiring emergency care may visit the hospitals/super-specialty hospitals and autonomous institutions," a notification from the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, T K Anil Kumar said.

All other patients with mild illness which requires outpatient care/ follow-up care/elective case including dental patients should not visit the hospitals for the next two weeks or till further orders to prevent crowding and the spread of COVID-19, it said.

Private hospitals have also been instructed to take similar steps.

The State has been registering a spike in cases. On Friday, there were 28,723 new cases, including 20,121 in the Bengaluru urban.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of Opposition BJP in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka said the results of the bypolls in Davanagere South and Bagalkote assembly constituencies will decide the future of the ruling Congress in the state.

The bypolls were necessitated following the demise of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, who represented Davanagere South and Bagalkote constituencies respectively.

The ruling Congress has fielded Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s grandson and Karnataka Minister S S Mallikarjun’s son Samarth Shamanur in Davanagere South and Umesh Meti in Bagalkote, who are locked in a direct contest with BJP candidates T Dasakariyappa and Veerabhadrayya Charantimath.

According to Ashoka, there is a contest between the poor and the rich in the upcoming bypolls, scheduled on April 9.

"The Congress will lose this election, and the future of the state will be decided. Since Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said ‘Make the poor win’, the BJP has fielded poor candidates,” the BJP leader said in a press conference.

In Davanagere, the BJP has given a ticket to an ordinary person, whereas Congress has given tickets to powerful and influential people. In Bagalkote, there is a very good opinion about the BJP candidate, he claimed.

According to him, the Congress has given space to dynastic politics in both places. Therefore, the BJP has a strong chance of winning in both constituencies.

The LoP said if the Congress candidate wins in Davanagere, it is understood that Muslims will not get opportunities in the future, and therefore, Muslims are opposing the Congress party.

He also charged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who talks about uniting backward classes, has not given a ticket to backward class candidates.