Bengaluru: No private hospital or medical establishment in Karnataka can turn away or deny treatment to Covid patients, said a top official on Sunday.
“Private medical establishments in the state shall not deny, refuse or avoid treatment to patients with Covid and Covid like symptoms,” ordered Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar.
Bhaskar highlighted the government took note of some private medical establishments in the state refusing treatment to Covid patients.
The chief secy said such refusals amount to violating Section 11 of the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act, 2017, which mandates every private medical establishment should actively participate in the implementation of all national and state health programmes.
“Private medical establishments shall actively participate in the implementation of all national and state health programmes in such manner as the state government may notify," said Bhaskar.
He said it is the statutory duty of all private medical facilities to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and adhere to the Patient's Charter.
Bhaskar invoked the Disaster Management Act 2005 and passed the orders in the capacity of the chairman of the State Executive Committee, Disaster Management, under the powers vested under Sections 24(f) and 24(I).
He directed the private hospitals to strictly comply with the provisions of Sections 11 and 11 A of the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act 2017 and the IPC.
Meanwhile, Karnataka tweaked quarantine rules for inter-state returnees yet again, waiving the 3-day institutional quarantine requirement for returnees from Delhi and Tamil Nadu.
Furthermore, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said criminal cases will be filed against those flouting face mask and social distancing rules and public can call police if someone refuses to follow the norms.
Panic in Bengaluru, as 783 test positive
Shankar Raj / Bengaluru
Panic gripped Bengaluru as the Capital city recorded a big spike in Covid-19 positive cases. For the second consecutive day, Bengaluru reported a significant jump in Covid cases with 783 people testing positive on Sunday.
This is the highest spike in cases reported in a day in Bengaluru so far even as the state government is searching for solutions to stop the spread of the virus. On Saturday, Bengaluru had reported 596 Covid cases.
For the first time, the state recorded over 1000 positive cases on Sunday with 1267 new cases joining the ever-growing cases of Covid patients. The number of cases in Bengaluru accounted for over 61% of the 1,267 cases Karnataka on Sunday.
A total of 5,472 patients are undergoing treatment in Karnataka. Of this, 243 patients are being treated in ICUs, of which Bengaluru accounts for 155 patients.
The state also recorded 16 Covid deaths, four from Bengaluru. With number of cases likely to rise, the state government has identified more places in Bengaluru to be turned into Covid-Care Centres, where asymptomatic patients will get treated. Patients with symptoms, including mild to moderate, will be treated in hospitals.
The state also changed its quarantine rules on Sunday. It has scrapped the 3-day mandatory institutional quarantine for travellers coming to the state from Tamil Nadu and Delhi. Now, travellers from all states, barring Maharashtra, will have to undergo 14-day home quarantine while travellers from Maharashtra have to undergo seven days institutional quarantine followed by seven days of home quarantine.
