Karnataka to have centralised system to classify COVID-19 infected persons, says minister

New Delhi: There will be a centralized system in place to classify asymptomatic, symptomatic and mild symptomatic persons and recommend treatment based on the severity of the cases, said Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar in Bengaluru on Tuesday (July 28).

Speaking with a team of experts from government and Infosys, the Medical Education Minister said, "Various existing Apps related to Covid will be brought under one platform to get real-time information which will assist in strategizing allocation of hospitals/beds to the needy." 

This will probably remove the delay in bed allocation and treatment which is being faced now, the patients will get all information in one phone call, the minister said. 

Referring to a company by name Step 1, which is providing such services in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, Dr Sudhakar said that a similar system will be implemented in the state as well. 

The Medical Education Minister said, "This company is having a team of doctors and nurses which is guiding the people whether they need hospital treatment or home isolation after they are tested positive for Covid. More than 70% of the positive cases are being asymptomatic or mild symptomatic and are advised to go for Home isolation." 

The load on the hospitals is reduced and severe cases can be administered proper treatment. Infosys to co-ordinate with the government to provide technical support for this system, Dr Sudhakar added. 

Chief secretary, representatives of Infosys, Principal Secretary ITBT were present in the Video conference.

Earlier in the day, the Minister held a video conference with the heads of private Medical colleges to review Covid preparedness. The minister informed that the government has already passed guidelines to allocate 50% beds for Covid patients, while instructed them to provide treatment for non-Covid patients as well. 

He enquired regarding the Tests being conducted in Private medical colleges, deployment of staff for the purpose, number of Covid cases being treated in each hospital. He instructed them to strictly adhere to the guidelines.

Karnataka records single-day spike of 5,536 new cases

The COVID-19 death toll in Karnataka breached the 2,000-mark today while the state reported its biggest single-day spike of 5,536 new cases, taking the total infection count to 1,07,001. The day also saw a record 2,819 patients getting discharged after recovery.

As many as 102 people succumbed to the disease, taking the toll to 2,055. Of the fresh cases, marginally higher than the previous biggest daily spike of 5,324 on Monday, a total of 1,898 cases were from Bengaluru Urban district.

This is the fifth consecutive day that the state is reporting over 5,000 fresh cases. 

As of Tuesday evening, cumulatively 1,07,001 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 2,055 deaths and 40,504 discharges, the health department said in a bulletin.